Question

A physics teacher owns a family of squirrels. The squirrels have been trained to do push-ups in repetitive fashion. Being connected to an electrical generator, their ongoing exercise is used to help power the home. There are 23 squirrels in the family and their average mass is 1.1 kg. They do work on the "up" part of the push-up, raising their body an average distance of 5.0 cm. The squirrels average 71 push-ups per minute.

a. For one average squirrel doing one average push-up, the amount of work is:

Answer 1

The work done by one average squirrel during one average push-up is calculated using the formula W = m × g × d, resulting in approximately 0.539 joules of work.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the amount of work done by one average squirrel doing one average push-up, we can use the formula for work done against the gravitational force:

Work (W) = Force (F) × Distance (d) × cos(θ)

Since the force exerted by the squirrel will be equal to its weight (mass multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity) and the movement is upward against gravity, the angle (θ) will be 0 degrees, making cos(θ) equal to 1. Therefore, the formula simplifies to:

W = m × g × d

Given the squirrel's averge mass (m) is 1.1 kg, the acceleration due to gravity (g) is 9.8 m/s², and the average distance (d) they move their body is 5.0 cm, which we convert to meters (0.05 m), we can plug the values into the equation:

W = 1.1 kg × 9.8 m/s² × 0.05 m

W = 0.539 N×m or J (joules)

Thus, for one average squirrel doing one average push-up, the amount of work done is approximately 0.539 joules.