There is an English unit of power called the “horsepower."Ostensibly it is the power of an average horse, but, of course, ithas a specific conversion: 1 horsepower (hp) = 745.7 watts

There is an English unit conversion too: 1 hp is the amount ofpower equal to 550 foot-pounds per second.

I would like you to calculate your own personal horsepower. Todo this, you need to measure the height of a convenient stairway,and then start a timer. Run up the stairs 10 times in a row andtime how long it takes you to do the running up part. (In otherwords, time just the amount of time it takes to go up thestairs.)

To figure out your power, remember the equation for potentialenergy: potential energy = mass (gravity) times height.

Power is energy divided by time. If you enter everything inmetric units, i.e., your weight in kg, the height of the stairs inm, gravity on earth as 9.8 m/s², and your average timefor going up the stairs in seconds, then your number is inwatts.

Convert it to hp and you will know what fraction of a horse (ormaybe how many horses!) you are.

Write out how you calculated the number and how you convertedthe number you got to horsepower. Do you think you could do thatsame type of power output all day? Horses can! Write an additional200–300 words about this exercise and what it taught you. Upload afile containing your calculations and writing.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

To calculate my personal horsepower I first measured the height of a nearby stairway which was appro... View the full answer