When you ride a bicycle at constant speed, nearly all the energy you expend goes into the work you do against the drag force of the air. model a cyclist as having cross-section area 0.43 m2 and, because the human body is not aerodynamically shaped, a drag coefficient of 0.90.
part a) what is the cyclist's power output while riding at a steady 7.3 m/s (16mph)?
part b) metabolic power is the rate at which your body "burns" fuel to power your activities. for many activities, your body is roughly 25% efficient at converting the chemical energy of food into mechanical energy. what is the cyclist's metabolic power while cycling at 7.3 m/s?
part c) the food calorie is equivalent to 4190 j. how many calories does the cyclist burn if he rides over level ground at 7.3 m/s for 1.5h ?