Physics 333 Problem Set #4

Question 1: Flight [8 pts]

a) Estimate how much more fuel a Boeing 747-300 has to carry on a flight from
Vancouver International Airport to London Heathrow Airport to accommodate
for laptop use in flight. Assume that everyone on the plane has a laptop and that
the jet fuel is converted to electricity with an efficiency of 0.33.

b) How does the cost of transport of a Boeing 747-300 compare to that of a 2010
Toyota Prius, which has a fuel economy of 4.7 L/100 km? Compare is terms of
L/100 km/passenger. Assuming the average number of passengers in Toyota to
be 1.5.

c) How much fuel does a plane require to go from rest on the runway to the
cruising speed at their typical altitude? Hint: Consider the potential energy and
kinetic energy required to get the plane to altitude and to speed. Assume that the
plane gets to cruising speed almost immediately and spends 20 mins gaining
altitude. Assume that it takes 20 min for the plane to reach cruising altitude.
Remember to account for drag. Note that the drag force acts on the airplane
wings, not on its cross-sectional area. Include engine’s efficiency.

d) How much fuel does it cost the plane to fly for 20 minutes at cruising altitude
and cruising speed? Assume air density at cruising altitude to be 0.4 kg/m3.
Compare your answer to part c). Should planes fly at higher or lower altitudes?
Question 2: The SkyTrain versus The MP 89 [3 pts]

a) Let’s calculate the energy cost of transport of the Skytrain in Vancouver in

MJ/km per 100 people. We know that the top speed is 60 km/h, it accelerates
once between each station, the capacity is 300, the mass of the empty Skytrain is
76,000 kg, the cross-sectional area is 11 m2. Assume the stations are 2 km apart,
have estimated the distance of acceleration and deceleration to be 300 m each,
the coefficient of rolling resistance to be 0.001, the drag coefficient to be 0.5,
and the mechanical efficiency of the electric motors to be 80%.

b) What is the energy cost of transport for the MP 89, a rubber tired train used on
the Paris Metro in MJ/km per 100 people? The maximum velocity is 80 km/h,
the maximum capacity is 720 people, and the power output is 2.8 MW. Because
we know the power output, we can calculate the energy cost of transport directly.
Assume that the motors have the same efficiency as the Sky Train. How does
this compare to part a)?
Question 3: BC ferries [4 pts]

To get to Gabriola Island, you need to take two ferries. The first, which goes from
Vancouver to Nanaimo, is the giant super ferry called the Coastal Celebration. The
second, which goes from Nanaimo to Gabriola, is a tiny ferry called Quinsam.

a) Calculate the hull speed for each of these ferries. You can Google the lengths.

b) Compare their hull speeds with the maximum speeds at which each of them
travels (Google them). Are these two speeds the same, or are they close, or are
they very different?

c) Calculate the Froude number at hull velocity for each of these ferries. Are they
similar or different? Explain.

d) Calculate the Froude numbers corresponding to the actual maximum speeds of

these two ferries.

Now check this picture

that describes ship design.
There is a mark “design
speed” that shows the
optimal Froude number
for two big ships. Compare
the actual Froude numbers
for the ferries with this
optimal Froude number in
the figure. Are they close,
or is there a difference? If
yes, why the difference? Fr
Question 4: Bikes vs. Cars [5 pts]

It turns out that people, just like engines, are about 25% efficient at turning chemical
energy into mechanical energy. We’re going to assume that during our commute
cars and bikes have the same average speed of 20 km/hr. Choose appropriate values
for the CD and μRR for the car and the bike.

a) Calculate the energy cost of transport for a each mode of transport in terms of
kJ/km. Assume each mode is travelling a constant speed.

b) For each mode of transportation calculate dollar cost of transportation in $/km if

we used gasoline to power both.

c) For each mode of transportation calculate dollar cost of transportation in $/km if

we used food to power both. Hint: Lesson 6 has some information about the
cost of different diets that you might find useful.

d) Rank the four costs that you found in b) and c) (even though we don’t fuel
people with gasoline, and cars with food). Which, money-wise, is the best?
Which is the worst? Explain.

Extra Practice, not for marks: Use b) and c) to calculate the CO2 produced per km
for each mode. Compare the impact.