2001-2007 by D.T. Haynie. All rights reserved.

ANSWERS TO EXERCISES

Chapter 1

1. Encyclopdia Britannica CD98 defines energy as the the capacity to produce an
effect. The 1968 edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary gives a variety of
definitions of energy. These include ability or capacity to produce an effect (1677)
and the power of doing work possessed by a body or system of bodies (late 19
th
c.).
We can see where the Britannica definition comes from! Most dictionaries and
encyclopedias of physics define energy as the capacity to do work. Work has a
rather special meaning in this context; we shall learn more about this in Chapter 2.

2. Stars (more specifically, supernovae) are the factories in which heavy elements like
carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and phosphorus are made. A large fraction of the dry mass
of the human body is made of these elements. In this sense we are made of
stardust. We owe our lives to stars, even if they are not gods. Many concepts
inherited from the Greeks are now known or believed to be right in broad outline but
wrong in detail. We see this in thought of Thales, Anaximenes and other notable
Greek thinkers, including especially (Socrates,) Plato and Aristotle.
3. Eqn. 1 provides an extremely good description of the relationship between energy and
wavelength, and we are therefore inclined to take it very seriously. This, however,
implies that there is no fundamental limit to the magnitude of the energy of photon: it
can be as large or small as it pleases. The same is true for other fundamental
particles, e.g. the electron, if they are free to move in a field of uniform potential.
An electron bound to an atomic nucleus is not free: its energy depends on its
distance from the nucleus. This raises some interesting philosophical questions. If
the total energy of the universe is finite, then why does Eqn. 1 seem to allow photons
of arbitrarily large energy? Is there something wrong with the equation? Is it
possible for the energy of the universe to be infinite? The imposition of boundary
conditions, e.g. positively charged nuclei in a chemical group, places restrictions on
the energy of an electron. The energy spectrum changes from continuous to discrete,
each energy level being separated from the others by a gap. When a visible
wavelength photon is absorbed by a pigment molecule, an electron jumps to a
higher energy (excited) state by an amount nearly identical to but slightly less than
the energy of the photon (the energy conversion process is not arbitrarily efficient).
The immediate biological consequences of the return of the excited electron returns to
its ground state are the subject of photosynthesis. If a plant is exposed to relatively
high frequency photons (e.g. UV), so much energy is imparted to the bound state
electrons of the pigment molecules that the electrons exceed the energy of the excited
state and escape. These high-energy electrons bombard the plants protein and
DNA, breaking covalent bonds. In this way high frequency photons sunburn
plants. The part of the biosphere that plays a key role in shielding the surface of
Earth from health-hazardous UV radiation is the ozone layer. This occurs naturally
in the atmosphere of Earth and is damaged by man-made chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs).

4. Chlorophylls absorb red and blue light well, but not green light. Plants reflect green
light, and that is why they appear green to the human eye. As long as leaves are alive
and producing pigment molecules, they are green. In the autumn, when the
2001-2007 by D.T. Haynie. All rights reserved.
temperature decreases, leaves die. They also change of color, reflecting an
underlying change in the distribution of pigment molecules. In late autumn tree
leaves are brown, when no pigment molecules are being produced.

5. Energy of a 470 nm photon =E
470
=(6.63 10
34
J s) (2.998 10
8
m s
1
) / (470
10
9
m) =4.2 10
19
J .

E
700
=E
470
470 / 700 =2.8 10
19
J .

3.5 10
19
J photon
1
(6.02 10
23
photons mol
1
) =2.1 10
5
J mol
1
.

1 cal =4.184 J .

2.1 10
5
J mol
1
/ (7 10
3
cal mol
1
4.184 J cal
1
) =7.2.

That is, a single visible wavelength photon corresponds to an energy about seven
times greater than the energy released upon hydrolysis of one molecule ATP to ADP
under standard state conditions.

6. 1000 E s
1
=10
3
10
6
E s
1
6.02 10
23
photons E
1
36 10
2
s hr
1
=217
10
22
photons hr
1
.

0.4 efficiency 217 10
22
photons hr
1
=86.7 10
22
effective photons hr
1
.

86.7 10
16
photons hr
1
/ (8 photons / molecule of CO
2
fixed) =10.8 10
22

molecules of CO
2
fixed hr
1
.

10.8 10
22
molecules of CO
2
hr
1
(1 mol CH
2
O produced / 1 mol CO
2
consumed)
30 g CH
2
O mol
1
/ (6.02 10
23
mol
1
) =1.8 10
1
mol of CH
2
O hr
1
=5.4 g of CH
2
O
produced.

7. At least 2870 kJ mol
1
are needed to synthesize glucose.

The energy of a 700 nm photon is E =hc/ =6.63 10
34
J s 2.998 10
8
m s
1
/
(700 10
9
m) = 0.0284 10
17
J

One mole of such photons has an energy of 0.02839 10
17
J 6.02 10
23
= 171 kJ .

The energy required to fix one mole of CO
2
is 2870 kJ / 6 =478 kJ .

The number of 700 nm photons required is 478 kJ mol
1
/ 171 kJ mol
1
=2.80.

Because 34 times that many photons are required, the efficiency of the process is
1/41/3, or 2533%. In comparison with industrial chemical processes, the level of
efficiency of biotic glucose synthesis is very good.

8. Be creative!

2001-2007 by D.T. Haynie. All rights reserved.
9. Spatial: dry land on the surface of Earth (the continents); homes of persons with a
particular surname (the surnames Davenport and Tyrer are today common in the
LiverpoolManchester region of England but rare in Scotland); sports facilities
(stadium and gym on campus, stadium in the city, private health clubs throughout the
city, etc.).

Temporal: appearance of dry land on the surface of Earth (this certainly changes,
owing largely to the melting and freezing of polar ice and continental drift); arrival
times of persons with particular surnames (permanent English settlement of North
America began in the early 17
th
century; Spanish exploration and settlement of the
Americas had begun earlier); access to one of a number of nearby sports facilities
(different opening and closing times and so on). All these can also be thought of
spatio-temporal distributions. Other temporal distributions: the number of cars
passing a given point of roadway per unit time (high at rush hour, low at 2 am); the
number of students arriving to class per minute (low until about one minute before
class is scheduled to begin, very high at the time class is scheduled to begin,
moderately high about one minute after class has begun ); home energy
consumption (high in the morning, practically nil during the day when no one is
present, high in the evening, practically nil at night).

Spatio-temporal: where people are standing or sitting during a party; where all the
cars of a city are located; where all ants of an anthill are located during the cycle of
digging a tunnel, having this rained out, foraging for food, calling other ants to help
carry a freshly smashed cockroach (lots of nutritious protein) back to the nest, and so
on.

10. Closed: an unopened bottle of delicious Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards in the
vicinity of La Charit, France; a lava lamp, its volatile fluid, and lava; a
thermometer and all its poisonous mercury.

Open: any living organism; an automobile with its vents open or windows down; a
bookstore.

11. Electrical or gas energy is used to heat the water. Electrical energy is used to keep
the milk cool in the fridge. Chemical energy is converted to mechanical energy in
pouring the hot water into the teapot and in opening of the fridge to get the milk.

12. The astronaut in a spaceship is a closed system (ignoring space walks!). In fact, the
spaceship is nearly an isolated system, exchanging neither matter nor energy with its
surroundings. The astronaut, however, is an open system; she exchanges both matter
and energy can be exchanged with the interior of the spacecraft.

13. Reptiles have no internal mechanism for regulating body temperature. When a
reptiles body temperature falls below the optimum, it moves to a region of the
environment of higher temperature. If this is not possible, activity drops, movement
becomes sluggish, heartbeat slows, and rate of breathing decreases.

14. 11 g glucose 15.6 kJ (g glucose)
1
=172 kJ .

2001-2007 by D.T. Haynie. All rights reserved.
15. Banana skins turn brown as the sugar in them is oxidized. The process occurs very
rapidly after the fruit has been peeled, because the skin becomes exposed to a high
concentration of oxygen on both its sides.

16. 135 W (1 J s
1
/ W) 60 s min
1
60 min hr
1
24 hr day
1
=11.7 MJ .

17. The energy of catabolism is less than the energy of combustion in a calorimeter
because the body does not completely oxidize foodstuffs. Some partial breakdown
products are utilized as precursors for biochemical physiological reactions.

18. 8 kg fat (37 kJ (g fat)
1
) / (16 kJ (g carbohydrate)
1
) =18.5 kg carbohydrate

She would be heavier by 18.5 kg 8 kg =10.5 kg.

19. Student As daily energy expenditure/requirement (E
A
) =(7.5 hr 5.0 kJ min
1
) +(15
hr 5.9 kJ min
1
) +(1.5 hr 13.4 kJ min
1
) 60 min hr
1
=8.8 MJ .

E
A
E
B
=((7.5 hr 7.5 hr) 5.0 kJ min
1
) +((15 hr 16 hr) 5.9 kJ min
1
) +((1.5
hr 0.5 hr) 13.4 kJ min
1
) =450 kJ .

8,766 kJ / (1.5 kcal g
1
wet wt of carbohydrate 4.184 J cal
1
) =1.4 kg carbohydrate.

1,397 g 1.5 / 8.8 =240 g fat.

1,397 g 1.5 / 1.5 =1.4 kg protein.

1 hr exercise 13.4 kJ min
1
60 min hr
1
/ (1.5 kcal g
1
wet wt of carbohydrate
4.184 J cal
1
) =130 g carbohydrate.

The last four calculations assume that the substance is hydrated and that it is burned
to completion. Water content will of course depend on the type of food, and the
metabolic pathways of the body do not completely oxidize foodstuffs. See legend of
Table 1.2.

20. The difference in mass, m, between the products and reactants is

m =2 (mass of
2
H) (mass of
3
He +mass of n)
=2(2.0141 a.m.u.) (3.0160 a.m.u. +1.0087 a.m.u.)
=0.0035 a.m.u.

The mass difference for one mole of
3
He formed is

0.0035 a.m.u. reaction
1
(1.6605 10
27
kg a.m.u.
1
) (6.02 10
23
reactions) =3.5
10
6
kg, or just a few milligrams.

The heat energy released per mole of reactions is E =mc
2
=3.499 10
6
kg (2.998
10
8
m s
1
)
2
=3.14 10
8
kJ mol
1
, the energy released on cooling the water of
several Olympic-sized swimming pools by 1 C.
2001-2007 by D.T. Haynie. All rights reserved.

21. WEP
1996
=(320 +55) 10
15
Btu 1.055 kJ / Btu =395 10
15
kJ .

((375 320) / 320) 100 =17 %

0.1719 / 9 yr =0.019 yr
1
or 2 % p.a.

Contribution of U.S.A. to WEP =73 / 375 =19.5 %.

0.00025 captured 1.7 10
17
J s
1
=4.3 10
10
kJ s
1
.

395 10
15
kJ yr
1
/ (365.25 day yr
-1
24 hr day
-1
3600 s hr
-1
) / 4.3 10
10
kJ s
1
=
0.29. That is, the rate of human energy production is about 1/3 that of photosynthesis.

The surface area of a sphere with a radius of 149.6 10
6
km =4 (149.6 10
6

km)
2
=281,200 10
12
km
2
.

The area of a circle with the diameter of Earth = (12,756 km / 2)
2
=127,800,000
km
2
.

The ratio of these areas is 454.5 10
12
. The total energy output of the Sun is
therefore estimated to be 1.7 10
17
J s
1
(454.5 10
12
)
1
=3.7 10
26
J s
1
.

The number of fusion reactions required per second is 3.7 10
26
J / (3.14 10
11
J
mol
1
) =1.2 10
15
mol. The number of moles of 2H consumed is twice as large,
because there are 2 moles of
2
H in each reaction.

Mass energy of Earth =5.976 10
24
kg (2.998 10
8
m s
1
)
2
=53.71 10
40
J .

53.71 10
40
J / (5 10
24
J ) =10 10
16
. There is a lot of energy stored in the matter
of our planet!

22. There are many ways in which energy is to biology as money is to economics. For
instance, as described in the text, the total amount of energy in a closed (or isolated)
system does not change; one distribution changes to another. Similarly, the total
amount of money does not change; it simply changes hands (ignoring, for example,
Treasury-led changes in the money supply). ATP is known as the energy currency
of the cell, because this one molecule is used to energize an amazingly broad
variety of processes. Similarly, legal tender can be used to purchase a wide range of
things, from objects to services to shares on the stock exchange.