Chapter 19, Problem 90P

In a motorcycle engine, a piston is forced down toward the crankshaft when the fuel in the top of the piston’s cylinder undergoes combustion. The mixture of gaseous combustion products then expands adiabatically as the piston descends. Find the average power in (a) watts and (b) horsepower that is involved in this expansion when the engine is running at 4000 rpm, assuming that the gauge pressure immediately after combustion is 15 atm, the initial volume is 50 cm³, and the volume of the mixture at the bottom of the stroke is 250 cm³. Assume that the gases are diatomic and that the time involved in the expansion is one-half that of the total cycle.