One calorie is equal to how many foot-pounds of work?

One calorie is equal to how many foot-pounds of work?

• A. 0.238 Foot-pounds of work
• B. 3.088 Foot-pounds of work
• C. 4.184 Foot-pounds of work
• D. 1.013 Foot-pounds of work

Answer: (B)

Understanding energy units and how they convert is the key. A small calorie is defined as 4.184 joules of energy. In English engineering units, work is measured in foot-pounds, where 1 joule equals about 0.73756 foot-pounds. Multiply the two: 4.184 J × 0.73756 ft·lb/J ≈ 3.088 ft·lb. So one calorie corresponds to roughly 3.088 foot-pounds of work. The other numbers reflect different unit scales (they would be values in joules or different conversions), but the correct conversion lands at about 3.088.

Understanding energy units and how they convert is the key. A small calorie is defined as 4.184 joules of energy. In English engineering units, work is measured in foot-pounds, where 1 joule equals about 0.73756 foot-pounds. Multiply the two: 4.184 J × 0.73756 ft·lb/J ≈ 3.088 ft·lb.

So one calorie corresponds to roughly 3.088 foot-pounds of work. The other numbers reflect different unit scales (they would be values in joules or different conversions), but the correct conversion lands at about 3.088.