An electrical power plant manages to send 87% of the heat produced in the burning of fossil fuel into the water-to-steam conversion.Of the heat carried by the steam,40% is converted to the mechanical energy of the spinning turbine.Which of the following choices best describes the overall efficiency of the heat-to-work conversion in the plant (as a percentage) ?

Question

An electrical power plant manages to send 87% of the heat produced in the burning of fossil fuel into the water-to-steam conversion.Of the heat carried by the steam,40% is converted to the mechanical energy of the spinning turbine.Which of the following choices best describes the overall efficiency of the heat-to-work conversion in the plant (as a percentage)?
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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The overall efficiency is the product of the efficiencies at each stage: 0.87 * 0.40 = 0.348 or 34.8%, which is less than 40%.

An Electrical Power Plant Manages to Send 87% of the Heat