Question

A loaded ski lift pulls 20 chairs with people sitting in them up 200 meters. Each chair with a person has 250 kg of total mass. How much power does it take to lift them if the ride takes 10 minutes?

A. 16,333 W
B. 163,333 W
C. 980,000 W
D. 98,000,000 W

Answer 1

First, we calculate the energy needed to transport one chair:
Energy = mass * gravity * height
Energy = 250 * 9.81 * 200
Energy = 490,500 Joules

Total energy for 20 chairs:
20 * 490,500
= 9,810,000 Joules

Power is expressed in watts which is joules per second, so:
Power = 9,810,000 / (10 * 60)
Power = 16,350 Watts

The answer is A