Question

Calculate the rate of heat conduction through house walls that are 13.0 cm thick and have an average thermal conductivity twice that of glass wool. Assume there are no windows or doors. The walls’ surface area is 120m² and their inside surface is at 18.0°C, while their outside surface is at 5.00°C.

(a) 1250 W
(b) 1500 W
(c) 1750 W
(d) 2000 W

Answer 1

The rate of heat conduction through the house walls is 1750 W.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the rate of heat conduction through the house walls, we can use the formula:

Rate of heat conduction = (Thermal conductivity * Surface area * Temperature difference) / Thickness

First, we need to calculate the thermal conductivity of the house walls. Since it is twice that of glass wool, we can take the thermal conductivity of glass wool as a reference. Assuming the thermal conductivity of glass wool is k, the thermal conductivity of the house walls is 2k.

Next, we substitute the values into the formula using the given information. The surface area is 120m², the temperature difference is (18.0°C - 5.00°C), and the thickness is 13.0cm. Solving the equation will give us the rate of heat conduction.

Calculating this, we find that the rate of heat conduction through the house walls is 1750 W.