PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

Work and Power

Objectives:

 Will be able to define and differentiate work, energy and power.

 Solve problems involving work, energy and power.
 Familiarize the different units used in work, energy and power.

Relation of Work to Energy and Power

Energy is the capacity to get work done. This means that its influence which an object will use
to exert a force on an object to displace the same thus leading to a change in its position. Work
is the action that takes place when displacing an object by applying a certain degree of force
on it. By doing this, one would expect a change in position. Power is the rate at which work
gets carried out or the amount of work
that gets done per time.

Drawing from these definitions, it is

safe to say that energy is a core need for
performing work. Power is the amount
of work that gets done in a given period.
Work on the other and is the action required to effect a change in the position of the object.
You need the energy to do work and power is the rate of doing work while energy is the
potential to do work.

Work

The physical quantity called word is a measure of the amount of change to which a
force gives rise when it acts on something.
The work done by a constant force F acting on an object while it undergoes a
displacement x is equal to the magnitude of the force component Fx in the direction of
the displacement multiplied by the magnitude x of the displacement.

If the angle between the force F and the displacement x is Ɵ, then

Fx = F cos Ɵ

and so the work done is W = Fx x = (F cos Ɵ) x

We can therefore define work by the equation

W = F x cos Ɵ

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
 Work is scalar quantity. No direction is associated with work, even though it depends
on two vector quantities, force and displacement.

When F is in the same direction as x, Ɵ = 0 and cos Ɵ =0, so

W = Fx ( F parallel to x)

But if F is perpendicular to x, Ɵ = 90o and cos Ɵ = 0,

in this case W= 0.

Joule and Foot-pound

The SI unit of work is joule, abbreviated as J. one joule is the work done by a force of
1 N acting through a distance of 1m. that is,

1 joule = 1 J = 1 N.m

The joule is named after the English scientist James Joule (1818 – 1889) and is
pronounced “jool.” To raise an apple from your waist to your mouth takes about 1 J of work.

Example: A person pulls an 80 kg crate 20 m across a level floor using a rope that is 30 o above
the horizontal. The person exerts a force of 150 N on the rope. How much work is done?

Solution: the work done is

W = F x cos Ɵ = (150 N) (20 m) (cos 30o)

= (150 N) (20 m) (0.866) J

= 2,598 J = 2.6 x 103 J = 2.6 kJ

Evidently, the 80 kg mass of the crate has no significance here, the force exerted on the crate
determines how much work is done.

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
 In the U.S. Customary System the unit of work is the foot-pound, abbreviated ft.lb. 1
ft. lb. is equal to the work done by a force of 1lb acting through a distance of 1 ft. a ft. lb. is a
1
little more than 1 3 J.

Example: a 100 lb wooden box is pushed across a horizontal floor with a force of 50 lb. The
coefficient of kinetic friction is 𝜇k = 0.40. (a) Find the work done in pushing the box 60 ft. (b)
How much work went into overcoming friction and how much into accelerating the box?

Solution: (a) The work done by the applied force of 50 lb is

W = Fx = (50lb) (60ft) = 3.0 x 103 ft. lb

(b) Since the normal force here is the box’s weight w, the frictional force is

Ff = 𝜇k FN = 𝜇k w = (0.40) (100 lb) = 40 lb

The work done to overcome this force is

Wf = Ff x = 940 lb) (60 ft) = 2400 ft. lb.

Hence the work that went in accelerating the box was

W - Wf = 3, 000 ft. lb, - 2,400 ft. lb = 600 ft. lb = 6.0 x 102 ft. lb.

Work Done Against Gravity

This work depends only on the height, not on the path.

The work needed to lift an object of mass m against gravity is easy to figure out. The
force of gravity on the object is simply its weight w = mg. Therefore, the fact that must be
exerted to lift the object has the same magnitude of mg and is in the same direction as the height
h to which the object is raised. Since Fx = mg, x = h and cos Ɵ = cos 0 =1, the work done is

W = mgh

General Note: (a) The work mgh must be done to lift an object of a mass m to a height h.

(b) When an object of mass m falls from a height h, the work of the gravity does
the work mgh on it.

(c) The force of the gravity does no work on objects that move parallel to the
earth’s surface.

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
Example: How much work is done in lifting a 300 lb load of bricks to a height of 60 ft on a
building under construction?

Solution: here mg = w = 300 lb and h = 60 ft,

W= mgh = wh = (300 lb) (60 ft) = 1.8 x 104 ft. lb

Example: Eating a banana enables a person to perform about 4.0 x 10 4 J of work. To what
height does eating a banana enable a 60-kg woman to climb?

Solution: from W = mgh we have

𝑊 4.0 𝑥 104 J 4.0 𝑥 104 kg 𝑚2/𝑠2

h = 𝑚𝑔 = (60 𝑘𝑔)(9.81 𝑚/𝑠 2 ) = (60 𝑘𝑔)(9.81 𝑚/𝑠2 ) = 68 m

Calculus

In a first course in Physics you typically look at the work that a constant force, F, does when
moving an object over a distance of d. In these cases, the work is,

W=Fd

However, most forces are not constant and will depend upon where exactly the force is acting.
So, let’s suppose that the force at any x is given by F(x). Then the work done by the force in
moving an object from x=a to x=b is given by,

𝑏
W=∫𝑎 𝐹 (𝑥)dx

Notice that if the force is constant we get the correct formula for a constant force.

𝑏 𝑏
W=∫𝑎 𝐹 (𝑥)dx = Fx = F (b−a)
𝑎

where b−a is simply the distance moved, or d.

Example: A spring has a natural length of 20 cm. A 40 N force is required to stretch (and hold
the spring) to a length of 30 cm. How much work is done in stretching the spring from 35 cm
to 38 cm?

This example will require Hooke’s Law to determine the force. Hooke’s Law tells us that the
force required to stretch a spring a distance of x meters from its natural length is,

F(x)=kx

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
 where k>0 is called the spring constant. It is important to remember that the x in this formula
is the distance the spring is stretched from its natural length and not the actual length of the
spring.

So, the first thing that we need to do is determine the spring constant for this spring. We can
do that using the initial information. A force of 40 N is required to stretch the spring

30cm−20cm=10cm=0.1m

from its natural length. Using Hooke’s Law we have,

40=0.10k⇒k=400

So, according to Hooke’s Law the force required to hold this spring xx meters from its natural
length is,

F(x) = 400x

We want to know the work required to stretch the spring from 35cm to 38cm. First, we need to
convert these into distances from the natural length in meters. Doing that gives us x’s of 0.15m
and 0.18m.

Then
0.18
W= ∫0.15 400 𝑥 𝑑𝑥

. 18
= 200x2
. 15

= 1.98J

Example: We have a cable that weighs 2 lbs/ft attached to a bucket filled with coal that weighs
800 lbs. The bucket is initially at the bottom of a 500 ft mine shaft. Answer each of the
following about this.

1. Determine the amount of work required to lift the bucket to the midpoint of the shaft.
2. Determine the amount of work required to lift the bucket from the midpoint of the shaft to the
top of the shaft.
3. Determine the amount of work required to lift the bucket all the way up the shaft.

Solution:

1. In this case we want to know the work required to move the cable and bucket/coal from x=0
to x=250.

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
The work required is

2. In this case we want to move the cable and bucket/coal from x=250=500.

The work required is,

3. In this case the work is,

Note that we could have instead just added the results from the first two parts and we would
have gotten the same answer to the third part.

Power
The rate of doing work.

Often the time needed to carry out a task is as important as the actual work needed. If
we are willing to wait, even a tiny motor can raise an elevator as high as we like. If we are in a
hurry, however, we want a motor whose work output is rapid in terms of the total work needed.
Thus the rate at which work is being done is significant. This rate is called power. The more
powerful something is, the faster it can do work.

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
 If an amount of work W is done in a time interval t, the power involved is

𝑊
P= 𝑡

work done
Power = time interval

In the SI system, where the work is measured in joule and time in seconds, the unit of
power is the watt:

1 watt = 1 W = 1 J/s

The kilowatt-hour (kWh) is often used as a unit of work. Since 1 1kW = 1000 W =
1000 J/s and 1 h = 3600 s,

I kilowatt-hour = 1 kWh = 3.6 x 106 J = 3.6 MJ

Example: An electric motor with an output of 15 kW provides power for the elevator of a six
story building. If the total mass of the loaded elevator is 1000 kg, what is the minimum time
needed for it to rise the 30 m from the ground floor to the top floor?

Solution: The work done in raising the elevator through a height h is

W = mgh

Since P = W/t, the time needed for the motor to raise the elevator by 30 m is

𝑚
𝑊 𝑚𝑔ℎ (1000 𝑘𝑔)(9.8 2)(30 𝑚)
𝑠
t= = = = 20 s
𝑃 𝑃 15 𝑥 103𝑊

The U.S. customary unit of power is the foot x pound/second (ft lb/s), which is
commonly replaced by the horsepower (hp) in engineering. The horsepower is equal to 550 ft
lb/s, so that

1 hp = 550 ft lb/s = 746 W = 0.746 kW

1 kW = 738 ft lb/s= 1.34 hp

Few actual horses can develop as much as 1 hp for very long.

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
Force, Speed and Power

How much power is delivered when a constant force F does work on object moving at
the constant velocity v? If Ɵ is the angle between F and v, then

𝑊 𝐹𝑥 𝑐𝑜𝑠 Ɵ
P= =
𝑡 𝑡
Since x/t = v
P = Fv cos Ɵ
When F is in the same direction as v,

P = Fv (F parallel to v)
Power = (force)(speed)

Example: A swimmer develops an average power 200 watts she covers 100 m in 80.0 s. What
is the resistive force exerted by the water on her?

Solution: The swimmer’s speed is v = 100 m / 80.0 s = 1.25 m/s. since P = Fv here,

𝑃 200 𝑊
F = 𝑣 = 1.25 𝑚/𝑠 = 160 N

which is about 36 lb.

References:

https://www.thefreemanonline.org/how-are-work-energy-and-power-related/

Modern technical Physics 6th Edition by Arthur Beiser, “Work” p.94-97, “Work Done Against Gravity” p. 97-98, “power” p. 99-100

https://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcI/Work.aspx

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales