Fuel economy

1
Fuel economy
2
Fuel consumption

• Measured in number of miles the car will travel
  on 1 gallon of petrol.
• In science we should measure in km per litre.
  However, all available data are in miles per
  gallon (mpg)
• The mpg are worked out for an average journey
  including fast motorway driving and slow town
  driving.

3
Energy transfer

• Fuel is a concentrated source of energy.
• In the car engine the fuel is combined with
  oxygen.
• The energy is transferred to the wheels of the
  car.
• Some engines are more efficient than others. This
  means that they transfer more energy to the
  useful function (e.g. movement) and less as heat
  and sound.

4
Designing an energy-efficient car

• You are starting out in car design. You are
  concerned about the environment and you want to
  reduce the amount of fuel used.
• You need to consider what factors affect the
  number of miles a car will go on each gallon of
  petrol. Assume that engines are equally
  efficient.

5
Factors to consider

• Type of fuel (petrol/diesel).
• Size of the engine (litres).
• Mass of the car (kg).
• Power of the engine (acceleration - time to
  change speed from 0-60 mph).
• Shape of the car (make).

6
Fuel economy in different cars
7
Fuel economy in different cars

• Draw scattergraphs to compare miles/gallon with
  each factor

8
Tips

• There are only two types of fuel.
• Filter the fuel column so that you can compare
  the factors (mass, engine size, acceleration,
  make) for petrol cars then diesel cars.

9
Excel support

• To filter, select all data (click empty cell in
  top left next to A column label).
• On tool bar select Data, then Filter.
• Select Autofilter.
• Select the arrow at the top of the fuel column
  and choose Petrol.

10
Excel support

• Sort the mpg column in ascending order (select
  all Data Sort Column E Ascending).
• Highlight mpg column and then (holding down
  Control key) highlight another column.
• Click the chart icon. Choose XY Scatter.
• Follow the wizard. Label the chart.

11
Research

• There has been much publicity about the Honda
  Insight.
• Honda claim that this car with its new engine
  design will give a fuel consumption of over 70
  mpg.
• Use the Internet to find out why this engine is
  so different.