Horsepower

1
Horsepower

• A Lab Presentation by
• Sarah Manuel

2
Goal

• The purpose of this lab is to calculate your own
  horsepower.

3
Background Info

• Power (Forcedistance)/time
• 1 horsepower 550 foot pounds per second

4
Material List

• Safe staircase
• Stop watch
• Yourself
• Calculator optional
• Measuring tape
• A partner
• Scale if your weight is unknown

5
Procedure

• Measure and record the vertical height of the
  staircase.
• Record your weight in pounds.
• Have your partner use the stop watch to time how
  long it takes you to run to the top of the
  staircase, then record the data.

6
Getting the Results

• Take the recorded data and plug them into the
  Power equation.
• That result can then be converted into horsepower!

7
Example

• Test subject weight 180lbs
• Height of staircase 9ft
• Time to run to top 3.4 seconds
• Use this information to calculate power
• (1809)/3.4 476.47 ftlbs/sec
• Convert this into horsepower
• 476.47 ftlbs/sec 1Hp 0.866Hp
• 550 ftlbs/sec

8
Conclusion

• It is very easy to calculate your own horsepower.
  
• In the automotive industry many companies promote
  horsepower, and as you can see, the result of an
  average healthy person does not even come close
  to that of our favorite sports car!
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