In this lesson, you should be able identify situations in which work is done.

Work is the product of force and displacement. However, there are instances when work is not
done.

How do you know when work is done on an object?

Learn about it!

Work is defined as the product of the force applied to an object and its change in position. But
before you calculate the amount of work done on an object, you must first be able to identify
situations when work is done. You can do this by identifying the direction of force and displacement
of the objects.

At this point, it is important to recall that both force and displacement are vector quantities and are
describe with both magnitude and direction.

When is work done?

 When a force is applied to make an object move in the same direction as the applied force,
work is done on the object.
 When the force and the movement of an object are perpendicular to each other, work is not
done on the object.
 When there is strong force applied to an object, if the object does not move, work is not
done.

Examples
 Work is done: When you push a cart to the right and it moves 5 m to the right from its
original position.
 No work is done: When you are lifting a ball and you move 5 m to the right with the ball.

What is Work?

What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘work’? The word work has many meanings.
When people ask, “What is your work?” They refer to a job or employment. When people say, “I’ll meet
you after work.” They refer to the part of a day devoted to an occupation or undertaking. When your
teacher asks, “Have you done your homework?” They refer to the task or activity needed to be
accomplished.

In Physics, work is an abstract idea related to energy. When work is done it is accompanied by a
change in energy. When work is done by an object it loses energy and when work is done on an object it
gains energy.
Sample problem:

Suppose a woman is pushing a grocery cart with a 500 Newton force along the 7 meters aisle, how much
work is done in pushing the cart from one end of the aisle to the other?

𝑊 = 𝐹𝑑

𝑊 = 500 𝑁 (7 𝑚)

𝑊 = 3500 𝑁𝑚

𝑊 = 3500 J