PHYSICS WEEK 7

Work
         Dot product is the product of two vector quantities and it is denoted by a dot in between the
two vectors, such as A∙B. Multiplying two vector quantities with each other results in a scalar
quantity, thus a dot product is also called the scalar product. The scalar product of vectors A and
B is defined by the equation
A•B = |A| |B| cosθ ; where θ is the angle between vectors A and B.
         Work is defined as the product of the magnitudes of the component of a force along the
direction of displacement and displacement. These two components, the force and the
displacement, are considered to be vector quantities. Therefore, work is considered to be a scalar
quantity and can be written as
W = Fd(cos θ)
         If θ = 0°, then cos 0° = 1 and work is just defined as W = Fd. If θ = 90°, then cos 90° = 0
and work will also be equal to zero. So, no work is done when force and displacement is
perpendicular to each other. In fact, work is done only when components of a force are parallel
to a displacement. When the force acting on an object and the object’s displacement are in
different directions, only the component of the force that is parallel to the displacement is doing
work. For example, if the force that you are exerting when pushing a crate along the floor is
horizontal, then all of your exerted effort is moving the crate. But, if your force is non-horizontal,
only the horizontal component of that force is causing a displacement on the crate and is
therefore the only force doing work. Work has dimensions of force times length. In the SI
system, work has a unit of Newtons times meter or N ∙ m, or Joules (J).

Example
         How much work is done on a vacuum cleaner pulled 3.0 m by a force of 50.0 N at an angle
of 30.0° above the horizontal?

         To solve the problem above, we need to use the equation for net work done by a constant
force.
W = Fd(cos θ)
W = (50.0 N)(3.0 m)(cos 30.0°)
W = 130 J
         Another way to identify the work done by an applied force is through the interpretation of
force vs. position graphs. In this kind of graph, the area under the curve is considered to be the
work done by a constant force through a distance.
Example   
         The left graph above is a force vs displacement graph with force in the vertical axis and
displacement in the horizontal axis. In finding the work done in this graph, all we need to do is
find the area under the graph’s curve. In this specific example, the area under the curve is a
triangle. So, we just have to use the formula for the area of a triangle to determine the magnitude
of the work.
A =  ½ bh
                               =  ½ (5 meters)(10 N)
                  =  ½ (50) N ⋅m
                =  25 Joules
Kinetic Energy
          Kinetic energy is the energy associated with objects that are in motion. The kinetic energy
of an object with mass m  and speed v is given by the expression:
KE = ½ mv2
          Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity and just like all forms of energy, its SI unit is the joule
or J. Note that a joule is also the basic SI unit for work.

Work-energy Relation
          Work-energy theorem states that the net work done on an object is equal to the change in
the kinetic energy of the object. Its equation is written as
Wnet = ΔKE           or            Wnet = ½ mvf2 – ½ mvi2 
         It is crucial to remember that when this theorem is in use, all forces that do work on the
object must be included in calculating the net work. From this theorem, we can observe that the
speed of an object increases if the net work done on it is positive, because the final kinetic
energy is greater than the initial kinetic energy. On the other hand, the object’s speed decreases if
the net work is negative, because the final kinetic energy is less than the initial kinetic energy.
Example
          In a factory, a person kicks a 10.0 kg crate, giving it an initial speed of 2.2 m/s. How far
does the crate move if the coefficient of kinetic friction between the crate and the ground is 0.10?

          The problem above can be solved using the definition of work and the work-energy
theorem. So, we will utilize the two equations from these definitions.
Wnet = Fd(cos θ)
Wnet = ΔKE
         The initial kinetic energy is given to the crate by the person pushing it with the equation:
KEi = ½ mvi2. Because the crate comes to a rest, the final kinetic energy is zero, denoted by this
equation: KEf = 0. This will give us the equation:
ΔKE = KEf – KEi = -KEi = -½mvi2 
         The net work done on the crate is provided by the force of kinetic friction, and the direction
of the force of kinetic friction is in the direction opposite d, giving us the angle θ = 180°. The
equation for the net work is written as:
Wnet = Fd(cos θ) = ukmgd(cos θ) 
         Now, all we need to do is substitute values into the equations:
Wnet = (0.10)(10.0 kg)(9.81 m/s2)d(cos 180°)
Wnet = (-9.8 N)d
ΔKE = -KEi = -(1/2)(10.0 kg)(2.2 m/s)2 = -24 J 
         Let’s use the work-energy theorem to solve for d.
Wnet = ΔKE
(-9.8 N)d = -24 J
d = 2.4 m 
Power
         Power is defined as the rate at which work is done. More generally, power is the rate of
energy transfer by any method. If the work done on an object is W in a time interval Δt, then the
power delivered to the object over this time interval is written as follows:
P = W/Δt
         It is useful to rewrite the equation above in an alternative form by substituting the
definition of work into the definition of power. The equation below shows that power is also
equal to the product of force times speed.
W = Fd
P = W/Δt = F(d/Δt) = Fv (alternative form)
         The SI unit of power is the watt, W, which is defined to be one joule per second. The
horsepower, hp, is another unit of power that is also used. One horsepower is equal to 746 watts.
The unit watt is perhaps more familiar to you from day to day experience with electrical
appliances.
Gravitational Potential Energy
          As discussed above, an object in motion possesses kinetic energy. But it is possible for a
system to have other forms of energy even if it is not in motion. Potential energy is present in an
object that has potential to move because of its position relative to some other location. Unlike
kinetic energy, potential energy depends not only on the properties of an object but also on the
object’s interaction with its environment.

          Gravitational potential energy is the energy associated with an object due to the object’s
position relative to a gravitational source. Imagine a ball falling off a table. As it is falling, it is
gaining kinetic energy. Where does the kinetic energy of the ball come from? It comes from the
gravitational potential energy that is associated with the egg’s initial position on the table relative
to the floor. Gravitational potential energy can be determined using the following equation:
GPE = mgh 
         The SI unit for gravitational potential energy is the joule, J. Gravitational potential energy
is a result of an object’s position and it must be measured relative to some zero level. The zero
level is the vertical coordinate at which gravitational potential energy is defined to be zero. This
zero level is arbitrary, but it is chosen to make a specific problem easier to solve. For example,
suppose you drop a bag from the roof of a two-floor building and it lands on the roof of a single
floor building adjacent to the building you are in. If the height is measured from the ground, the
gravitational potential energy is not zero because the bag is still above the ground or the zero
level. But if the height is measured from the roof of the single floor building, the gravitational
potential energy is zero when the ball lands on the roof of the adjacent building.

Elastic Potential Energy

          Elastic potential energy is the energy stored in any compressed or stretched object, such as
a spring or the stretched strings of a tennis racket or guitar. Suppose you press a bottle into a
spring, compressing the spring, and then release the bottle. The bottle slides across the surface
and its kinetic energy as it slides came from the elastic potential energy in the compressed
spring.

          The length of a spring when no external forces are acting on it is called the relaxed length
of the spring. When an external force compresses or stretches the spring, elastic potential energy
is stored in the spring. The magnitude of the potential energy depends on the distance the spring
is compressed or stretched from its relaxed length. Elastic potential energy can be determined
using the following equation:
EPE = ½ kx2 
         The variable x represents the distance the spring is compressed or stretched from its relaxed
state. The symbol k is called the spring constant or force constant. For a flexible spring, the
spring constant is small. A stiff spring on the other hand has a large spring constant. Spring
constants or k have units of Newtons divided by meters or N/m.
Example
          A 70.0 kg window cleaner is attached to a bungee cord with an unstretched length of 15.0
m. He jumps off the roof of a building that is 50.0 m from the fourth floor of the building where
he is assigned to clean. When he finally stops, the cord has a stretched length of 44.0 m. Treat
the window cleaner as a point mass, and disregard the weight of the bungee cord. Assuming the
spring constant of the bungee cord is 71.8 N/m, what is the total potential energy relative to the
fourth floor when the man stops falling?

          The zero level for gravitational potential energy is the fourth floor of the building. To find
the total potential energy, we need to find the sum of the gravitational and elastic potential
energy.
PETotal = GPE + EPE
GPE = mgh
EPE = ½ kx2 
         Substitute the given values into the equations above:
GPE = (70.0 kg)(9.81 m/s2)(6.0 m) = 4.1 x 103 J
EPE = ½ (71.8 N/m)(29.0 m)2 = 3.02 x 104 J
Total PE = 4.1 x 103 J + 3.02 x 104 J = 3.43 x 104 J
Conservative and Non-Conservative Forces
          A conservative force is a kind of force wherein the work done on an object by the force is
the same regardless of the path taken by the object. In other words, the work done by a
conservative force is dependent only on the initial and final position of the object, and not the
path taken in between. A force is determined to be conservative if the net work that it acts upon
an object when an object moves in a closed pathway is zero. Examples of conservative force are
gravitational force, spring force, and magnetic force.

         Imagine two identical balls with identical mass, m, both placed on top of height, h. The
first ball is dropped on a straight path while the second ball rolls down an inclined plane that
makes an angle, θ, with respect to the ground. The two balls reach the final position, the ground,
through two different pathways. But, it is the same force that acted on them that made them fall
or roll down to the ground and that is the force of gravity. This means that despite the different
pathway taken by the two balls, the work done by gravity on the balls is the same. 

          Non-conservative force is a force that does not only depend on an object’s initial and final
position. It also depends on other factors, such as velocity and the pathway taken. Friction, air
resistance, push, and pull are forces considered to be non-conservative. For example, let us say
we have a box that is being dragged along a closed rectangular pathway. The force of friction in
this system will always be in the opposite direction of the motion. Thus, the net work done on the
object will not be equal to zero – it is some positive value.