In doing a load of clothes, a clothes dryer uses 16 A of current at 240 V for 45 min. A personal computer, in contrast, uses 2.7 A of current at 120 V. With the energy used by the clothes dryer, how long (in hours) could you use this computer to surf the Internet?
8.89 hours
To find out how long you can use the computer to surf the Internet using the energy consumed by the clothes dryer, we need to calculate the energy consumed by the clothes dryer first, and then divide it by the energy consumed by the computer per hour.
First, let's calculate the energy consumed by the clothes dryer. The formula for energy (E) is given by:
E = power (P) * time (t)
The power is given by the current (I) multiplied by the voltage (V):
P = I * V
For the clothes dryer:
Current (I) = 16 A
Voltage (V) = 240 V
Time (t) = 45 min = 45/60 hours = 0.75 hours
Substituting the values, we get:
P = 16 A * 240 V = 3840 W
E = 3840 W * 0.75 hours = 2880 Wh
Now, let's calculate how long we can use the computer with this energy.
For the computer:
Current (I) = 2.7 A
Voltage (V) = 120 V
Energy consumed per hour (E) = P = I * V
Substituting the values, we get:
P = 2.7 A * 120 V = 324 W
To find the time (t) in hours, we divide the energy consumed by the computer by its power consumption:
t = E / P = 2880 Wh / 324 W = 8.89 hours (approximately)
Therefore, you can use the computer to surf the Internet for approximately 8.89 hours with the energy consumed by the clothes dryer.