Mechanical Work and Kinetic Energy

Work is a scalar quantity equal to the product of the x-displacement and the component of the force
in the same direction of the motion.

Net or resultant work is the algebraic sum of individual works of each force.

In order that a work can, be done:

 There must be an F-force being applied.

 There must be an x-displacement.
 The force should have component along the displacement.

That means that when we have an angle, we only are going to use the component that is on the same
axis of the displacement.

A lawnmower is pushed in a 20 m horizontal distance by a 200 N force, directed 30° to the ground.
What is the work done by this force?

First, we can do a free body diagram where we show the displacement and the force.

As the formula indicates, we only use the horizontal component of the force:
The unit for work is the Joule (J), so the result of this exercise is:

We have a positive work when force F contributes with x-displacement. In the other hand, we have a
negative work when a force, like the friction, is opposing the displacement in x.

Energy is anything that can be transformed into work; that means anything that can exert a force
through a distance. Energy is the capability of doing work.

Kinetic energy is the capability of doing work with motion (mass and velocity).

Work and Kinetic Energy Theorem

The work-energy theorem says that the work done by a net force equals the change in the kinetic
energy produced.

We begin with the work-energy theorem and plug work, using its formula, and then on the right side

we plug each of the values we know:

Power is defined as the rate of work. That means how fast we can do work.

The power is measured in J/s which is called watt (W). A watt is the work done at a rate of one joule
per second.

In the USCU we don’t normally use ft.lb/s, because we have a special unit call horsepower (hp).