Page 1 of 7 CHAPTER-04 (WORK, POWER & ENERGY) SIR MOOSA KAZIM PSH 2023

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Work
• Work is said to be done when a force is displaced the body through some distance in the direction of
force.
• From the definition of dot product, Work done is defined as “scalar or dot product of Force and
displacement”.
• Work done by the force in displacing the body through a distance S is given by
W = (F cos θ) S = FS cos θ
or
W=F S
Thus, work done by a force is equal to the scalar or dot product of the force and the displacement of
the body.
• Work is scalar quantity
• Its dimensional formula is [M L2 T -2]
• SI unit of work is joule (J)
“One joule of work is defined as when a force of one newton displace a body through one meter”.
• CGS unit of work is erg
1 joule = 107 erg
• FPS unit of work is foot-pound(ft-lb)
• Some other convenient unit of work are
a) Electron-volt (eV)
b) kilo watt-hour (kWh)
• 1 eV = 1.6x 10-19 J
• 1 kWh = 3.6 x 106 J
• Positive work
When force (or its component) is parallel to displacement or
The positive work shows that the external force increases the velocity of the body.
Example:
a) When a person lifts a body from the ground, the work done by the (upward) lifting force is positive
b) When a lawn roller is pulled by applying a force along the handle at an acute angle, work done by
the applied force is positive.
• Negative work
When force (or its component) is opposite to displacement or
The negative work shows that the external force decreases the velocity of the body.
Example:
a) When a person lifts a body from the ground, the work done by the (downward) force of gravity is
negative.
b) When a body is made to slide over a rough surface, the work done by the frictional force is
negative.
• Zero work
There are three conditions for which work done becomes zero
1. If the force is perpendicular to the displacement [θ = 90°]
Example:
a) When a coolie travels on a horizontal platform with a load on his head, work done against gravity
by the coolie is zero.
b) When a body moves in a circle the work done by the centripetal force is always zero.

2. If there is no displacement [S = 0]
Example:
a) When a person tries to displace a wall or heavy stone by applying a force then it does not move,
the work done is zero.
b) A weight lifter does work in lifting the weight off the ground but does not work in holding it up.

3. If there is no force acting on the body [F = 0]

Example:
Motion of an isolated body in free space.
Page 2 of 7 CHAPTER-04 (WORK, POWER & ENERGY) SIR MOOSA KAZIM PSH 2023
2 Work Done In Gravitational Field
Consider a closed path 'ABCA' in gravitational field, such that

• The angle between w and d1 is 0°

• The angle between w and d₂ is 90°
• The angle  BAC is θ.
• d1 = Displacement from A to B
• d2 = Displacement from B to C
• d = Displacement from A to C
• w = The weight of the body

as shown in figure.
Now we have to calculate the total work done as:
• Work done from A and B will be:
ΔWA-B = w. d₁ = w d₁ cos 0° = w d₁ (1) = w d₁ -------------(1) cos 0° = 1
• Work done from B and C will be:
ΔWB-C = w. d₂ = wd₂ cos 90° = wd₂ (0) = 0 -----------------(2) cos 90° = 0
• Work done from A and C will be:
ΔWA-C = (w cosθ) d = w (dcosθ)
From right angle triangles (Figure)
d₁ = d cos θ
Thus eq: (3) becomes
ΔWA-C = w (dcosθ) = w d₁ ------------------------(3)
The total work done from A to C via B can be calculated as
ΔWA-B-C = ΔWA-B + ΔWB-C
ΔWA-B-C = 0 + w d₁ = w d₁ -------------------------(4)
By comparing eqs: (3) and (4), we get

ΔWA-B-C = ΔWA-C = w d₁

This shows that the total work done in gravitational field is independent of path followed by the body.
• Work done between C and A will be:
ΔWC-A = - ΔWA-C = - w d₁ -----------------------(5)
The total work done for a closed path ABCA can be obtained as
ΔWA-B-C-A = ΔWA-B + ΔWB-C + ΔWC-A
ΔWA-B-C-A = w d₁ + 0 - w d₁ = 0 [From eqs: 1,2 & 5]

ΔWA-B-C-A = 0

This shows that the total work done in gravitational field is zero for a closed path, hence it is a conservative
field.
ANOTHER METHOD
If a body of mass m lifted to height h from the ground level
by different path as shown in the figure.
Work done through different paths
WI = F.S = mg x h = mgh
WII=F.S=mg × l sinθ = mg × (h) = mgh
WIII=mgh1 + 0 + mgh₂ + 0 + mgh3 + 0 + mgh4 = mg (h1 + h₂ + h3 + h4 + h5) = mgh
WIV =  F dS = mgh
It is clear that WI = WII = WIII = WIV = mgh.

This shows that the total work done in gravitational field is independent of path followed by the body.
Further if the body is brought back to its initial position A, similar amount of work is done. i.e.
WA-B = mgh
WB-A = - mgh
Hence, the total work done in a closed path ABA is

WA-B-A = WA-B + WB-A = mgh+(-mgh) = 0

This shows that the total work done in gravitational field is zero for a closed path, hence it is a conservative
field.
Page 3 of 7 CHAPTER-04 (WORK, POWER & ENERGY) SIR MOOSA KAZIM PSH 2023
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Power
• Power is defined as the rate at which work is done or energy is transferred.
• If a force F does work W in time t, then its average power is given by
Average power (P) = Rate of doing work
ΔW
P=
t

 ΔW=F ΔS
F ΔS  
P=  ΔS 
t V=
 Δt 

 P=F V
This shows that power is the dot product of force and velocity
• The rate of doing work in any instant of time is called “instantaneous power”.
ΔW
Pins = lim
Δt →0 t

• Power is a scalar quantity.

• The dimensional formula of power is [ML2 T-3].
• The SI unit of power is watt (W).
“The power of an agent is one watt if it does work at the rate of 1 joule per second”.
1 watt = 1 joule/second (1Js-1)
Other popular units of power are
• kilowatt
1 kilowatt = 1000 watt or 1 kW = 103 W
• horsepower.
1 horsepower = 746 watt or 1 hp = 746 W
This unit is used to describe the output of automobiles, motorbikes, engines etc.

Energy
• The energy of a body is defined as its capacity or ability for doing work.
• Like work, energy is a scalar quantity having magnitude only and no direction.
• The dimensions of energy are the same as the dimensions of work i.e. [ML2 T-2].
• It is measured in the same unit as work i.e. joule in SI and erg in CGS system.
• Energy can exist in various forms such as mechanical energy (potential energy and kinetic
energy), sound energy, heat energy, light energy etc.
Potential Energy
• The potential energy of a body is the energy stored in the body by virtue of its position or the
state of strain.
Examples
• The water stored in a reservoir
• A wound spring
• Compressed air
• Stretched rubber chord, etc. possess potential energy.

Expression for The Potential Energy

• Let us consider a body of mass m, which is at rest at a height h
above the ground as shown in Figure.
• When the body is taken vertically up through a height h, then work done is
given as
W = Force x Displacement
W = mg x h
As this work done is stored as potential energy in the body, therefore
P.E = mgh
Page 4 of 7 CHAPTER-04 (WORK, POWER & ENERGY) SIR MOOSA KAZIM PSH 2023
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Kinetic energy
• The kinetic energy of a body is the energy possessed by the body by virtue of its motion.
Examples
• A falling body
• A bullet fired from a rifle
• A swinging pendulum, etc. possess kinetic energy.
• Kinetic energy depends on frame of reference i.e.
The kinetic energy of a person of mass m, sitting in a train moving with speed v, is zero in the
frame of train but in the frame of the earth is (1/2) mV2
Expression for Kinetic energy
• Let us consider a body of mass m moving with a velocity V in a
straight line as shown in Figure.
• Suppose that it is acted upon by a constant force F resisting its
motion, which produces retardation a. Then
F = mass x retardation = - ma
• The work done is given as
W = Force x Displacement
W = - ma x S
W = - ma [(V2f – Vi2)/2a] [Vf = 0 & Vi = V]
W = (1/2) mV 2

As this work done is due to the motion of the body, therefore

1
K.E= mV 2
2
Relation of Kinetic Energy With Linear Momentum:
• As we know
1
K.E= mV 2
2
1 P 1 P
K.E=   V 2 = = PV [As P=mV & V= ]
2 V  2 m
or
P2
K.E=
2m
• Kinetic Energy
1 1 P2
K.E= mV 2 = PV =
2 2 2m
• Momentum
2K.E
P= = 2mK.E
V
• From above relation it is clear that a body cannot have kinetic energy without having
momentum and vice-versa.
Page 5 of 7 CHAPTER-04 (WORK, POWER & ENERGY) SIR MOOSA KAZIM PSH 2023
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Law of conservation of energy

• “Energy neither be created nor destroyed but it can be transformed from one form into
another, total amount of energy remains constant”.
For example, when a cup is dropped the P.E changes to K.E, but on striking the ground, the K.E
changes to heat and sound but total at each instance is always conserved.
• The law states that, if a body or system of bodies is in motion under a conservative system of
forces, the sum of its kinetic energy and potential energy is constant.
Explanation
• From the principle of work and energy,
Work done = change in the kinetic energy
W = ΔK.E = (K f - K i ) -----------------------(1)
• If a body moves under the action of a conservative force, work done is stored as potential
energy.
W = ΔP.E = - (Uf - Ui ) ----------------------(2)
• Work done is equal to negative change of potential energy.
Comparing the equation (1) and (2),
U f + K f = Ui + K i
which means that the sum of the potential energy and kinetic energy of a system of particles
remains constant during the motion under the action of the conservative forces.

Work-Energy Equation
• Suppose a body is falling freely under the action of gravity at a certain height h.
• During its downward motion, its velocity Increases and so there is an increase in K.E.
• If there is no force of friction involved during the motion of the body then the loss of P.E must
be equal to the gain in K.E i.e.

Loss of P.E = Gain in K.E

• In practice there is always a force of friction f, say opposing the downward

motion of the body. Here a fraction of the P.E is used up in doing work
against the force of friction. Thus, a modified form of the above equation is

Loss of P.E = Gain in K.E + work done against friction

or
1
mgh = mv 2 + fh
2

This equation is called work-energy equation.

For upward motion,

Loss of K.E = Gain in P.E (If friction is not present)
1 2
mv = mgh + fh (If friction is present)
2

Work-energy theorem
• This theorem states that work done by all the forces (conservative or non-conservative,
external or internal) acting on a particle or an object is equal to the change in kinetic
energy of it.
Wnet = ΔK.E = (K f - K i )

1
Wnet = ΔK.E = m (Vf2 - Vi2 )
2
Or Wconservative + Wnon-conservative + Wext.force = ΔK.E

If Wnet is positive then kinetic energy will increase and vice-versa.

Page 6 of 7 CHAPTER-04 (WORK, POWER & ENERGY) SIR MOOSA KAZIM PSH 2023
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Absolute Potential Energy

• The amount of work done required in lifting a body from a point to infinity point against the
force of gravity is called Absolute Potential Energy at that point. i.e.,

ΔWA-B = (P.E) abs at A ; if B is at Infinity

• Work done between A and B will be given as

ΔWA-B = Fav . Δr = Fav (r2-r₁)---------------(1)

Where
GmM e
Fav =
rav2
r +r
rav = 1 2
2

• The average froce F acting

between A and B is given as

GmM e
Fav = ---------(2)
r1r2

• Put the value of Fav from eq-(2) in eq-(1), we get

GmM e
ΔWA-B = Fav. Δr = ( r2 − r1 )
r1r2
Or
 r r 
ΔWA-B = GmM e  2 − 1 
 r1r2 r1r2 
Or
1 1
ΔWA-B = GmM e  −  --------------------------------(3)
 r1 r2 

• If B is at infinity (r2 = ) then ΔWA-B = (P.E) abs at A, therefore

1 1 1
(P.E) abs at A = GmM e  −  =0
 r1  
Or
GmM e
(P.E) abs at A = ---------------------------(4)
r1

• If we displace the body from surface of earth’s radius 'Re', then we replace 'r1' by 'Re'
Then eq-(4) becomes,

GmM e
(P.E) abs at A = ----------------------------(5)
Re
• Actually, it is the work done against gravity, so its value is always taken as negative so

GmM e
(P.E) abs at A = −
Re
Or

GmM e
Absolute P.E = −
Re
Page 7 of 7 CHAPTER-04 (WORK, POWER & ENERGY) SIR MOOSA KAZIM PSH 2023
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Escape Velocity
• The minimum velocity required to a body to just overcome the gravitational pull, is known as
escape velocity.
• The absolute potential energy of a body at the earth's surface is given by
GmM e
U abs = ------------------------(1)
Re
Where
Me = Mass of the Earth
Re = Radius of the earth.
• If Vesc is the required escape velocity, then kinetic energy which should be given to the body is
given as
1 2
K.E = m Vesc ------------------------(2)
2
• The value of escape velocity can be computed by equating the K.E with absolute potential
energy i.e., K.E = U abs

1 2 GmM e
m Vesc =
2 Re

2GM e
Vesc = ------------------------(3)
Re
GM e
gR e =
Re

 Vesc = 2gR e ------------------------(4)

• Equations (3) & (4) are the expressions for escape velocity
• Escape velocity is independent of the mass and direction of projection of the body.
• Escape velocity depends on the reference body.
M
• Greater the value of ( e ) or ( gR e ) for a planet, greater will be escape velocity.
Re
• For the earth as g = 9.8ms-2 and Re = 6400 km
Vesc = 2  9.8  6.4 106 = 11.2km/sec
• For the Moon as gm = 1.6ms-2 and Rm = 1740 km
Vesc = 2 1.6 1.74 106 = 2.36km/sec

Vorbital = Vo = gR e

 Vesc = 2 Vo ---------------------------(5)

• Equation (5) is the relationship between escape velocity and orbital velocity.