BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
EGR2205 THERMODYNAMICS I
Problem Set 1 (PS1)
Issued: 19th/20th August, 2024 Due: 2nd/3rd September, 2024
The goal of this problem set is to (i) identify Heat and work transfer interactions (ii) Determine various
forms of mechanical work (iii) Apply the first law to the solution of simple problems.
Problem 1: Basic Definitions in Thermodynamics
Consider the following systems:
a) An astronaut in space
b) A skydiver falling through the air
c) A pot of water heating up on an electric burner
For each of the above,
• define the system.
• determine whether it is isolated/closed/open,
• determine the sign (direction) of the heat and work transfer terms, and the relevant forms of internal energy.
Problem 2: Running of a Sprinter
A world-class sprinter runs the 200 meter dash in 19.32 sec. If the mass of the sprinter is 100 kg and if his acceleration
is constant throughout the race, calculate:
(a) his kinetic energy at the end of the Dash
(b) the average power (in horse power where 1 HP = 745.7 W) he expends during the race
(c) Estimate the amount of energy consumed from the sprinter’s reserves during the race
(d) If the energy content of a chocolate bar is 200 calories, how many chocolate bars will he require to supply
the necessary energy for the race?
Problem 3: Cooking of Eggs
You are in charge of cooking six eggs for your friends. You can approximate an egg as being a sphere of diameter of 5
cm. All eggs are initially in your fridge at a uniform temperature of 2oC. You lower the six eggs into a pot filled with
boiling water at 100oC. You put the cover on the pot and remove the pot from the stove. You can assume that the
covered pot is adiabatic (no heat transfer between the pot and surrounding air). After 15 minutes, you remove the six
eggs from the pot and measure that each of them is at a uniform temperature of 80oC.
The density and specific heat of water are ρw = 1000 kg/m3 and cw = 4.187 kJ/kg/K. The density and specific heat of an
egg are ρe = 1020 kg/m3 and ce = 3.3 kJ/kg/K. To make a hard-boiled egg, one needs to heat the egg to at least 65-70oC.
You can neglect the energy absorption/release associated with the chemical and/or phase changes that occur within each
egg during cooking.
(a) Develop an expression suitable to determine the amount of heat transferred from the water to each egg.
(b) What is the magnitude of the energy lost by the water during the 15 minutes of cooking?
(c) If you measure the temperature of the water to be 95oC after the 15 minutes of cooking, what was the volume of
water in your pot?
(d) Given the volume of water obtained in c), what is the maximum number of eggs that you could have cooked to
70oC for your friends?
(e) If the pot is not adiabatic, what is the largest heat transfer loss that the pot can endure while still cooking the 6
eggs to 70oC?
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