To find the input horsepower of the engine, we can use the concept of percentage loss. If the engine has a 4% loss of power, it means the output power is 96% (100% - 4%) of the input power.
Let's denote the input horsepower as x. According to the given information:
Output power = 240 HP = 96% of input power
Mathematically, we can represent this as:
0.96x = 240
To solve for x, we divide both sides of the equation by 0.96:
x = 240 / 0.96
Calculating this, we find:
x ≈ 250
Therefore, the input horsepower of the engine is approximately 250 HP.