012-08375A
Small Piston Heat Engine
15
5.3 Activity: Determining Volume and Pressure
a.
Take any measurements needed to determine the volume and pressure of air in the system at
all four points in the engine cycle. You should do this rapidly to avoid air leakages around the
piston and summarize the measurements with units in the space below.
b.
Next you can use your measurements to calculate the pressure and volume of the system at point
a
. Show your equations and calculations in the space below and summarize your results with
units. Don't forget to take the volume of the air in the tubing and can into account!
P
a
=
V
a
=
c
. Use the measurements at point
b
to calculate the total volume and pressure of the air in the
system at that point in the cycle. Show your equations and calculations in the space below and
summarize your results with units.
P
b
=
V
b
=
d
. What is the height,
y
, through which the added mass is lifted in the transition from
b
to
c
?
e
. Use the measurements at point
c
to calculate the total volume and pressure of the air in the
system at that point in the cycle. Show your equations and calculations in the following
space and summarize your results with units.
P
c
=
V
c
=
f
. Remove the added mass and make any measurements needed to calculate the volume and
pressure of air in the system at point
d
in the cycle. Show your equations and calculations in the
space below and summarize your results with units.
