A typical Pb-acid automobile battery weighs 20 kg. Compare the amount of $$\text { energy it stores when fully charged to the energy content of } 1 \mathrm {~L} \text { of gasoline. }$$

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is From Table 19.2, the specific energy for Pb-acid batteries is 0.13 MJ/kg. Thus a

20 \mathrm {~kg}

battery has a total energy storage capacity of

( 0.13 \mathrm { MJ } / \mathrm { kg } ) imes ( 20 \mathrm {~kg} ) = 2.6 \mathrm { MJ }

From Appendix IV, one liter of gasoline has an energy content of

34.8 \mathrm { MJ }

or about 13 times as much as the battery.