 Work, Power and Energy

In physics, work is the energy transferred to or from an object via the application of force along a displacement.
In its simplest form, it is often represented as the product of force and displacement. A force is said to do positive work if
(when applied) it has a component in the direction of the displacement of the point of application. A force does negative
work if it has a component opposite to the direction of the displacement at the point of application of the force.
For example, when a ball is held above the ground and then dropped, the work done by the gravitational force on the ball
as it falls is equal to the weight of the ball (a force) multiplied by the distance to the ground (a displacement). When the
force F is constant and the angle between the force and the displacement s is θ, then the work done is given by:

Work is a scalar quantity, so it has only magnitude and no direction. Work transfers energy from one place to
another, or one form to another. The SI unit of work is the joule (J), the same unit as for energy.
The SI unit of work is the joule (J), named after the 19th-century English physicist James Prescott Joule, which is defined
as the work required to exert a force of one newton through a displacement of one metre.
The dimensionally equivalent newton-metre (N⋅m) is sometimes used as the measuring unit for work, but this can be
confused with the measurement unit of torque. Usage of N⋅m is discouraged by the SI authority, since it can lead to
confusion as to whether the quantity expressed in newton metres is a torque measurement, or a measurement of work.
Non-SI units of work include the newton-metre, erg, the foot-pound, the foot-poundal, the kilowatt hour, the litre-
atmosphere, and the horsepower-hour. Due to work having the same physical dimension as heat, occasionally
measurement units typically reserved for heat or energy content, such as therm, BTU and calorie, are utilized as a
measuring unit.

 Work and energy

 The work W done by a constant force of magnitude F on a point that moves a displacement s in a straight line in
the direction of the force is the product

For example, if a force of 10 newtons (F = 10 N) acts along a point that travels 2 metres (s = 2 m),
then W = Fs = (10 N) (2 m) = 20 J. This is approximately the work done lifting a 1 kg object from ground
level to over a person's head against the force of gravity.

The work is doubled either by lifting twice the weight the same distance or by lifting the same
weight twice the distance.

Work is closely related to energy. The work-energy principle states that an increase in the kinetic energy of a
rigid body is caused by an equal amount of positive work done on the body by the resultant force acting on that body.
Conversely, a decrease in kinetic energy is caused by an equal amount of negative work done by the resultant force.
Thus, if the net work is positive, then the particle’s kinetic energy increases by the amount of the work. If the net work
done is negative, then the particle’s kinetic energy decreases by the amount of the work.[6]

From Newton's second law, it can be shown that work on a free (no fields), rigid (no internal degrees of freedom)
body, is equal to the change in kinetic energy KE corresponding to the linear velocity and angular velocity of that body,
The work of forces generated by a potential function is known as potential energy and the forces are said to
be conservative. Therefore, work on an object that is merely displaced in a conservative force field, without change in
velocity or rotation, is equal to minus the change of potential energy PE of the object,
These formulas show that work is the energy associated with the action of a force, so work subsequently possesses
the physical dimensions, and units, of energy. The work/energy principles discussed here are identical to electric
work/energy principles.

Constraint forces

Constraint forces determine the object's displacement in the system, limiting it within a range. For example, in
the case of a slope plus gravity, the object is stuck to the slope and, when attached to a taut string, it cannot move in an
outwards direction to make the string any 'tauter'. It eliminates all displacements in that direction, that is, the velocity in
the direction of the constraint is limited to 0, so that the constraint forces do not perform work on the system.
For a mechanical system, constraint forces eliminate movement in directions that characterize the constraint. Thus
the virtual work done by the forces of constraint is zero, a result which is only true if friction forces are excluded.
 Fixed, frictionless constraint forces do not perform work on the system,[9] as the angle between the motion and
the constraint forces is always 90°.[9] Examples of workless constraints are: rigid interconnections between particles,
sliding motion on a frictionless surface, and rolling contact without slipping.[10]
For example, in a pulley system like the Atwood machine, the internal forces on the rope and at the supporting pulley do
no work on the system. Therefore work need only be computed for the gravitational forces acting on the bodies. Another
example is the centripetal force exerted inwards by a string on a ball in uniform circular motion sideways constrains the
ball to circular motion restricting its movement away from the centre of the circle. This force does zero work because it is
perpendicular to the velocity of the ball.

The following are the formulas used in solving WORK, depending on its motion and direction

 W= Fd
where:
W= work done (Joules, J)
F= force (Newton, N)
d= distance(meter, m)

 W= mgh
where
W= Work done (Joules, J)
m= mass (kilogram, kg.)
g= acceleration due to gravity (9.8m/s2)
h= height (meter, m)

 W=FCosƟ
where:
W= Wrok done (Joules, J)
F= Force (Newton, N)
Cos= Cosine
Ɵ= given angle

 To understand the formulas about work the following are example problems on each equation.

1. A person pulls a block 2 m along a horizontal surface by a constant force F = 20 N. Determine the work done by
force F acting on the block.

Known :
Force (F) = 20 N
Distance (d) = 2 m

Unknown : Work (W)

Solution :
W = Fd 
= (20)(2)
= (20)(2)(1)
W= 40 Joule

2. A force F = 10 N acting on a box 1 m along a horizontal surface. The force acts at a 30° angle as shown in figure
below. Determine the work done by force F.
Known :
Force (F) = 10 N
Distance (d)= 1m
Ɵ= 30°

Unknown : Work (W) ?

Solution :
W = FdCosƟ
= (10N) (1m) (Cos 30°)
= (10N) (1m) (0.87)
W= 8.7 N

3. A body falls freely from rest, from a height of 2 m with a mass of 3.5kg. If acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s2,
determine the work done by the force of gravity

Known :
mass (m) = 3.5 kg
Height (h) = 2 m
Acceleration due to gravity (g) = 9.8 m/s2 (CONSTANT!!!!)

Unknown : 
Work done by the force of gravity (W)

Solution :
W=mgh
= (3.5kg)(9.8m/s2)(2m)
W= 68 Joule

 Activity 1- Monday
Use equation number 1 to solve the following problems. Show your solutions
1. Amy uses 20N of force to push a lawn mower 10 meters. How much work does she do?
2. How much work does an elephant do while moving a circus wagon 20 meters with a pulling force of 200N?
3. Alex applies 350 N of force to move his stalled car 40 m, how much work did Alex do?
Write your answer here:
1. 2. 3.
  Activity 2- Tuesday
Use equation number 2 to solve the following problems.
1. A 10 kg object experiences a horizontal force which causes it to accelerate at 5 m/s2, moving it a distance of 20
m, horizontally. How much work is done by the force?
2. A person lifts a package with a mass of 8kg. If she lifts it 1.2 m off the floor, what work has she done?
3. What work is done when a person pushes a refrigerator with a mass of 72kg across a floor 12 m?
Write your answer here:
1. 2. 3.

Activity 3- Wednesday
Use equation number 3 to solve the following problems.
1. A crate is moved across a frictionless floor by a rope THAT is inclined 30 degrees above horizontal. The tension in
the rope is 50 N. How much work is done in moving the crate 10 meters?
2. A sailor pulls a boat along a dock using a rope at an angle of 60.0º with the horizontal. How much work does the
sailor do if he exerts a force of 255 N on the rope and pulls the boat 3.00 m?
3. A girl pulls a wagon along a level path for a distance of 44 m. The handle of the wagon makes an angle of 22º
above horizontal. If she pulls on the handle with a force of 87 N, how much work is done?
Write your answer here:
1. 2. 3.

 Quiz- Thursday(Show your solution)

1) Amy uses 20N of force to push a lawn mower 10 meters. How much work does she do?

2) How much work does an elephant do while moving a circus wagon 20 meters with a pulling force of 200N?
3) A 900N mountain climber scales a 100m cliff. How much work is done by the mountain climber?
4) Shawn uses 45N of force to stop the cart 1 meter from running his foot over. How much work does he do?

5) How much work is done when a force of 33N pulls a wagon 13 meters?

6) How much work is required to pull a sled 5 meters if you use 60N of force?

7) Tommy does 15 Joules of work to push the pencil over 1 meter. How much force did he use?

8) Angela uses a force of 25 Newtons to lift her grocery bag while doing 50 Joules of work. How far did she lift the
grocery bags?

9) The baseball player does 1234 Joules of work when hitting a baseball into left field. Assuming the baseball
landed 100 meters away from home plate, how much force did the player use to hit the ball?