Sport Science: How Many Horsepower Can You Generate?
Calculating the horsepower your students can generate is a fun activity for health, PE or even physics classes.
Procedure
- Measure 10 feet (vertically) and mark the spot on a set of stairs that corresponds to this height (less than 10 feet also works).
- Measure the time it takes for students to run up the stairs to the 10-foot mark.
- Calculate the horsepower they generated using the following formula:
Horsepower = Height x Weight
Seconds X 550
Height = The height climbed in feet.
Weight = The weight of the student in pounds.
Seconds = The number of seconds it took to climb the height.
550 = A constant.
Example
Here's how the formula works in the case of a 100-pound girl who runs the 10 feet in 2.5 seconds:
Horsepower = 10 x 100
2.5 x 550
= 1000
1375
= .73
So this student generates just under 3/4 of a horsepower. A 200-pound man running the same time and height would generate 1.45 horsepower.
References:
Marvin N. Tolman, Hands-On Physical Science Activities for Grades K-8, Parker Publishing Company, 1995
2. Dean Sewell, Philip Watkins, Murray Griffin, Sport and Exercise Science: An Introduction, 2nd Edition, Routledge, 2012.
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