for an assignment I'm writing, I'm trying to find the % efficiency of ethanol.
We were given a chart that says ethanol's energy input (MJ/L) is 16.16 and its energy output is 23.58
% efficiency = energy output/energy input x100, so
23.57/16.16 x 100
I get 146%.
So does that mean "the percent efficiency of ethanol is 146%"?
To find the percent efficiency of ethanol, you correctly used the formula % efficiency = (energy output / energy input) × 100.
However, in this case, it seems there might be a mistake in the values you provided. You mentioned that the energy input for ethanol is 16.16 MJ/L and the energy output is 23.58 MJ/L.
If we plug these values into the formula:
% efficiency = (23.58 / 16.16) × 100
The result should be approximately 145.7%, not 146%.
So, to answer your question, the correct statement would be: "The percent efficiency of ethanol is approximately 145.7%."