You have a summer job at your university’s zoology department, where you’ll be w

Question

You have a summer job at your university’s zoology department, where you’ll be working with an animal behavior expert. She’s assigned you to study videos of different animals leaping into the air. Your task is to compare their power outputs as they jump. You’ll have the mass m of each animal from data collected in the field. From the videos, you’ll be able to measure both the vertical distance d over which the animal accelerates when it pushes off the ground and the maximum height h it reaches. Part A Your task is to find an algebraic expression for power in terms of these parameters. Express your answer in terms of the variables m, g, h, and d.

Explanation / Answer

Lewis Formula

The Lewis formula or nomogram (Fox & Mathews, 1974) is a commonly used formula (found in many high school text books). This formula only estimates average power, and is based on a modified falling body equation. The original formula used the units of kg·m·sec.-1. To convert it to Watts, the standard unit for Power, the factor of 9.81 has been added.

Average Power (Watts) = 4.9 x body mass (kg) x jump-reach score (m) x 9.81

Average Power (Watts)= 4.9* m* (h-d) * g

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