Work, Power

and Energy
Use the words work and power in their proper
scientific sense.
 Work is done when a force causes an object to move.

 Power is the rate at which work is done.

Work is a scalar quantity, even though it is the
product of two vector quantities
 Work is a scalar quantity.

 Work is the dot product of the force vector and displacement vector.
 Recognize the component of a
force that does the work.
 W = Fd

W – work (Joules)
F – magnitude of the force parallel to the direction of motion (Newtons)
d – distance (m)
Cont’d
 Therefore, work is only done if the object moves.

 Holding a 50 N bag of groceries is not doing

work even though you get tired. A force is
exerted but the distance (displacement) is zero.
Cont’d
 Carrying the same 50 N bag of groceries a
distance of 10 m is not doing work either because
there is no component of the weight vector that is
parallel to the direction of motion. There is some
work being done (not the carrying of the groceries)
but it is the work being done to overcome friction
between your shoes and the floor.
Cont’d
 When an object is being
pulled across the floor by a
rope held at an angle, the
component of the force
that is parallel to the F
direction of motion is
Fcos. θ

Fcosθ
Cont’d
Therefore, in this case,

W=Fdcos. F

Fcosθ
Sample Problem
 A man pulls a 50-kg stone a distance of 4 m at a constant
velocity along a rough road by applying a 250-N force
along a rope that makes an angle of 60 with the
horizontal. He then stoops down and lifts the stone
vertically to a height of 1 m and carries it at a constant
velocity a distance of 5 m. How much work does he do to
the stone?

Answer: 990 J
Cont’d
 Theman is doing work as he pulls the stone along the
ground and again when he lifts the stone but no work is
done when he is just carrying the stone.
 Tofind the total work done in this problem you need to find
the work done in each part then add them together.
Correctly calculate power used.
 Power is measured in Watts.

 Like work, power is a scalar quantity.

Cont’d
 P – power (Watts)
 W – work (Joules)
 t – time (seconds)
 F – Force ( Newtons)
 d – distance (m)
 v – velocity (m/s)
Sample Problem
 A 65-kg athlete runs 600 m at a constant speed up a
mountain inclined at 20 with the horizontal. He
performs this feat in 80 s. Assuming that air resistance is
negligible, (a) how much work does he perform, and (b)
what is his power output during the run?

Answer: 130720 J
1634 W
Sample Problem
 A 20000 kg truck goes up a 20o incline of 500 m in 1 minute. How
much power (in Watts) was shown by the truck?

Answer: 558632 Watts

Sample Problem
 An elevator has a mass of 1000 kg and carries a maximum load of
800 kg. A constant frictional force of 4000 N retards its motion
upward. What minimum power must the motor deliver to lift the
fully loaded elevator at a constant speed of 3 m/s?

Answer: 64920 W
Define energy
 Energy is defined as the ability to do work.
 Energy like work is also measured in Joules.
 Work is the means by which energy changes forms.
 Mechanical energy can be divided into two basic forms:
Potential and Kinetic.
 Classify examples of mechanical energy as gravitational
potential, elastic potential or kinetic forms of energy.
 Potential energy is the energy a body has due to its
position or condition.
 An object held above ground level has
gravitational potential energy because it wants to
be at ground level (it would fall if it was released)
 A stretched spring has elastic potential energy
because it wants to be back at its equilibrium
position.
Cont’d
 Kinetic energy is the energy an object has because of its motion.
 A carmoving at 50 m/s has kinetic energy
 Water heated to 75o C has thermal kinetic energy due to
the motion of the molecules
State the work-energy theorem
 The work – energy theorem says that the net work done is equal to
the change in kinetic energy or the net work done is equal to the
change in potential energy.
Cont’d  W – Work (Joules)
 KE – change in kinetic
energy (final KE – initial
KE) (Joules)
 PE – change in potential
energy (final PE – initial
PE) (Joules)
Cont’d
 In each case, the carts had the same change in potential energy and
the same work was done on each but because of the different paths
(angles of the incline) different forces were necessary and different
distances were traveled
Cont’d
W = ΔKE
Fd = 0.5mv2

If the same braking (frictional) force is applied in each case and each
car has the same mass then when the speed is doubled, the braking
distance will quadruple.
Cont’d
 The kinetic energy of an object is defined as the work done to
accelerate it from rest to that speed.
 The potential energy of an object is defined as the work done to
move an object to that position.
Calculate kinetic energy
 KE – kinetic energy
(Joule)
 m – mass (kg)
 v – velocity (m/s)
Recognize the arbitrary nature of a base
level
 An objects gravitational potential energy can be calculated
with respect to any arbitrary base level.

 In many cases, the surface of the earth is used at the base

level.
Cont’d
 A book was placed on the top shelf of a bookcase.

 It has no gravitational energy with respect to the

top shelf.
 It has a negative gravitational potential energy
with respect to the ceiling.
 It has a positive gravitational potential energy
with respect to the floor.
Calculate gravitational potential energy using
different base levels.

 PE – potential energy (Joule)

 m – mass (kg)
 g – acceleration of gravity
(m/s2)
 h – height raised above ground
level or any arbitrary base
level (m).
Sample Problem
 A 100 kg is standing on the ground at the base of a ladder. He climbs
up to the 10th step. Each step is 0.5 m apart. What is your potential
energy?
For a body starting and ending at rest, work is the
change in potential energy
 A book is picked up off the floor and placed on the top shelf
of a book case.
 Initially (on the floor) it has zero kinetic energy and zero
potential energy. Finally (on the top shelf) it has zero kinetic
energy and some positive amount of gravitational potential
energy with respect to the floor.
 Since there is no change in the kinetic energy of the book,
the work done on the book must be equal to it’s change in
gravitational potential energy.
Derive the equations for the work done on a spring
and the elastic potential energy stored in a spring
 PE – potential energy (Joule)
 k – spring constant or force
constant (N/m)
 x – displacement from
equilibrium (m)
State the law of conservation of mechanical
energy
 The law of conservation of energy states that within a closed isolated
system, energy can change form but the total amount of energy is
constant.

 This means that energy is neither created nor destroyed.

Cont’d
 As the cart rolls down the incline, it loses potential energy and gains
kinetic energy.

 The total mechanical energy stays constant.

Cont’d
 As the cart moves down the hill, potential energy is
converted into kinetic energy. On the way back up the
hill on the other side, his kinetic energy is converted back
into potential energy.

 Since the rider starts out with both potential and kinetic
energy his final height is greater than his original height
Cont’d
 The projectile starts out sitting on a compressed spring so it
has lots of elastic potential energy. When the projectile is
launched all of the elastic potential energy is converted into
kinetic energy. During the upward flight of the projectile,
the kinetic energy is turned into gravitational potential
energy but during the downward flight of the projectile, the
gravitational potential energy is converted back into kinetic
energy. The total mechanical energy stays constant
throughout.
Cont’d
 During the rollercoaster ride, one type of energy is constantly being
converted into other types of energy but the total mechanical energy
is constant throughout the ride.
Cont’d
 At the endpoints, the pendulum has a maximum potential energy and
zero kinetic energy.
 At equilibrium, the pendulum has a maximum kinetic energy and
depending on the arbitrary base line used, it either has no potential
energy or a minimum amount of potential energy.
Cont’d
 When friction is not taken into account
KEInitial + PEInitial = KEFinal + PEFinal

 When friction is taken into account, some energy is used to

overcome friction
KEInitial + PEInitial = KEFinal + PEFinal + WFriction
Cont’d
 At the top of the hill it has only potential energy.

 At the base of the hill it has only kinetic energy.

 Once it has stopped it has neither kinetic nor potential

energy. The work done by friction to stop the cart is equal to
the total mechanical energy it had at any point prior to
braking.
Sample Problem
 A 25,000 N cars is traveling at 30 m/s. The brakes are suddenly
applied and the car slides to a stop. The average braking force
between the tires and the road is 7,500 N. How far will the car slide
once the brakes are applied?
Sample Problem
 A 2 kg ball is dropped from a height of 3 m onto a vertical spring,
which has a force constant of 200 N/m. How much will the spring
compress?
Differentiate between elastic and inelastic
collisions.
 In both elastic and inelastic collisions, momentum is
conserved.
 In elastic collisions, kinetic energy is conserved as well.

∆KE = 0
KEfinal – KEinitial = 0
Conservation of energy also applies to heat
transfer
 Thermal energy can be transferred by conduction, convection, or
radiation.
 Conduction occurs in solids
 Convection occurs in fluids (gases and liquids)
 Radiation occurs in a vacuum.
Laws of thermodynamics
 The first law of thermodynamics says that when work is
done on a system some of the work is changed into heat
(thermal) energy.

 The second law of thermodynamics states that when work

is done, some energy must be transferred to the
surrounding system, and becomes unavailable for further
use.
Examples of the laws of thermodynamics
Examples of the 1st law


 As a roller coaster moves down from the highest

point on the track, some of its potential energy is
changed into kinetic energy, sound energy, and
thermal energy (due to friction). The original
energy (potential energy) is equal to the sum of
the kinetic energy, sound energy, and thermal
energy.
Cont’d
 Examples of the 2nd law
 Asa roller coaster moves down the hill the gain in
kinetic energy will always be less than the loss in
potential energy since some of the energy is converted to
thermal energy. (systems tend toward disorder –
entropy)