Question

Describe the energy transfers and transformations that occur when a person rides a bicycle. Make sure to identify each example as an energy transfer or an energy transformation.

Answer 1

Here are the 5 Points you should include in your answer.

chemical energy transformed to kinetic energy in muscles and/or body

kinetic energy transferred from legs to pedals

kinetic energy transferred from pedals to wheels

kinetic energy transformed to thermal energy due to friction (wheels get warm)

chemical energy transformed to thermal energy in muscles

Answer 2

The most basic transformation which happens when a person rides a bike are as follows.

With respect to the person and the bicycle - chemical (potential) energy from the nutrients of the food you ate is used by your muscle to transform this into mechanical energy as movement when you pedal

With respect to the bicycle to the road the mechanical energy produced in the first premise is converted to displacement and dissipated to heat due to frictional force of the road, drag and other factors.