Math  /  Algebra

Question24. Question from 1.12: Modeling Variation
The power PP that can be obtained from a windmill is directly proportional to the cube of the wind speed ss. (a) Write an equation that expresses this variation. (Use kk for the constant of proportionality.) \square (b) Find the constant of proportionality for a windmill that produces 128 watts of power when the wind is blowing at 20mi/h20 \mathrm{mi} / \mathrm{h}. k=k= \square (c) Hoyv much power will this windmill produce if the wind speed increases to 30mi/h30 \mathrm{mi} / \mathrm{h} ? \square watts

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

What is this asking? We need to find a relationship between wind speed and power output for a windmill, figure out a constant based on given values, and then predict the power at a higher wind speed. Watch out! The problem says "cube," so we're dealing with the third power, not just multiplying by 3!
Also, make sure the units match up throughout the calculations.

STEP 2

1. Express the variation.
2. Find the constant.
3. Calculate the power at the new wind speed.

STEP 3

Alright, so we're told that power PP is *directly proportional* to the *cube* of wind speed ss.
This means PP increases as ss increases, but not at the same rate.
The "cube" tells us that we need to use s3s^3.

STEP 4

Direct proportionality means we can write this relationship with a constant of proportionality, which we'll call kk.
So, our equation looks like this: P=ks3 P = k \cdot s^3

STEP 5

Now, we're given some real-world data!
We know that when the wind speed ss is **20 mi/h**, the power PP is **128 watts**.
Let's plug those values into our equation: 128=k(20)3 128 = k \cdot (20)^3

STEP 6

Time to solve for kk!
First, let's calculate 20320^3: 203=202020=8000 20^3 = 20 \cdot 20 \cdot 20 = 8000 So our equation becomes: 128=k8000 128 = k \cdot 8000

STEP 7

To isolate kk, we'll divide both sides of the equation by **8000**: 1288000=k80008000 \frac{128}{8000} = \frac{k \cdot 8000}{8000} k=1288000=0.016 k = \frac{128}{8000} = 0.016 So, our constant of proportionality, kk, is **0.016**.

STEP 8

We now have our complete equation: P=0.016s3 P = 0.016 \cdot s^3 We want to find the power PP when the wind speed ss increases to **30 mi/h**.
Let's plug that in: P=0.016(30)3 P = 0.016 \cdot (30)^3

STEP 9

First, we calculate 30330^3: 303=303030=27000 30^3 = 30 \cdot 30 \cdot 30 = 27000 Now, substitute this back into our equation: P=0.01627000 P = 0.016 \cdot 27000

STEP 10

Finally, multiply to find the power: P=432 P = 432 So, at **30 mi/h**, the windmill will produce **432 watts** of power!

STEP 11

(a) P=ks3 P = k \cdot s^3 (b) k=0.016 k = 0.016 (c) 432 watts

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