Work, Energy, and

Power
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the chapter the students should be able to:

1. Understand Work done by a force

2. Solve problems of Kinetic Energy by applying Work Energy
Theorem
3. Understand Gravitational Potential Energy and Elastic
Potential Energy
4. Identify Conservative and Nonconservative forces
5. Understand the concept of Conservation of Energy
6. Solve problems involving work, energy and power.
 Work
• Work has a different meaning in physics than it does in everyday usage
• The work, W, done by a constant force during a linear displacement along
the x-axis is
W = Fx Δx
• Fx is the x-component of the force and Δx is the object’s displacement
 Work
• W = F x
• This equation applies when the force is
in the same direction as the
displacement
• are in the same direction
• Work is a scalar quantity
• So there is no direction associated with
it
 Work General
• W = F x
• W = (F cos )x
• F is the magnitude of
the force
• Δ x is the magnitude of
the object’s
displacement
• q is the angle between

W = (F cos )S
 Units of Work
• SI
• Newton • meter = Joule
• N•m=J
• J = kg • m2 / s2
• CGS
• Dyne.cm = erg
• US Customary
• foot • pound
• ft • lb
• no special name
 More About Work, cont.
• The work done by a force is zero when the force is
perpendicular to the displacement
• cos 90° = 0
• Work can be positive or negative
• Positive if the force and the displacement are in the same
direction
• Negative if the force and the displacement are in the
opposite direction
 When Work is Zero
• Displacement is
horizontal
• Force is vertical
• cos 90° = 0
• W=0
 Work Can Be Positive or Negative

• Work is positive when

lifting the box
• Work would be
negative if lowering
the box
• The force would
still be upward,
but the
displacement
would be
downward
 More About Work
• If there are multiple forces acting on an object, the total
work done is the algebraic sum of the amount of work done
by each force

• Wtotal = Wnet = algebraic sum of all works

Example
1. A man is pulling the 50.0kg crate by a constant
force of 98.0N. If the crate moves to a distance of
10.0m and the coef. of kinetic friction is 0.20, find:
a. Work done by the force exerted by the man.
b. Work done by the normal force.
c. Work done by the weight.
d. Work done by friction.
e. Total work done on the crate
f. If the force applied by the man is
110N and inclined 30.00 with
respect to the horizontal, find (a) and (e)
2. A block of mass 5.8kg is pulled up to a distance of
2.0m parallel to the incline by a force equal to 32N. If
the angle is 250 and the coef. of friction between block
and incline is 0.10. Find:
a. Work done by F.
b. Work done by the normal force.
c. Work done by the gravity.
d. Total work done on the block.
 Kinetic Energy
• Energy associated with the motion of an object
of mass m moving with a speed v

• Scalar quantity with the same units as work

• Work is related to kinetic energy
Work-Kinetic Energy Theorem
• When work is done by a net force on an
object and the only change in the object is
its speed, the work done is equal to the
change in the object’s kinetic energy
•
• Speed will increase if the net work is positive
• Speed will decrease if the net work is negative
Example
3. A man is pulling the 50.0kg crate by a constant force
of 110N. If the coef. of kinetic friction is 0.20, what is
its speed after 10.0m assume the initial speed to be
zero.
4. A car is travelling at 50.0km/h on a flat highway.
a) If the coef. of friction between road and tires on a rainy day is 0.100, what
is the minimum distance in which the car will stop?
b) What is the stopping distance when the surface is dry and the coef. of
friction is 0.600?
 Potential Energy
• Potential energy is associated with the position of the object
within some system.
• Types:
• Gravitational Potential Energy
• Elastic Potential energy
 Gravitational Potential
•
Energy
Gravitational Potential Energy is the
energy associated with the relative
position of an object in space near the
Earth’s surface
• PEg = mgh
m- mass of the object
g = gravitaional acc.
h = height from the reference point.
• Consider the reference point to be the
lowest position.
 Reference Levels
• At location A, the
desk may be the
convenient
reference level
• At location B, the
floor could be
used
• At location C, the
ground would be
the most logical
reference level
 Work-Energy Theorem
• The work-energy theorem can be extended to include potential
energy:

• Wother = ΔKE + ΔPE

• Wother is work done by force other than the weight or non

conservative force.
 Conservative Forces
• A force is conservative if the work it does on an object moving
between two points is independent of the path the objects take
between the points
• The work depends only upon the initial and final positions of the
object
• Any conservative force can have a potential energy function
associated with it
 More About Conservative Forces
• Examples of conservative forces include:
• Gravity
• Spring force
• Electromagnetic forces
• Potential energy is another way of looking at the work done by
conservative forces
 Nonconservative Forces
• A force is nonconservative if the work it does on an
object depends on the path taken by the object between
its final and starting points.

• Examples of nonconservative forces

• Kinetic friction, air drag
 Friction Depends on the Path

• The blue path is

shorter than the
red path
• The work required
is less on the blue
path than on the
red path
• Friction depends
on the path and so
is a non-
conservative force
5 . A block of mass 5.8kg is pulled up to a distance of 2.0m parallel to
the incline by a force equal to 32N. If the angle is 25 0 and the coef. of
friction between block and incline is 0.10.
Find the speed of the block at the highest pt. Assuming the initial speed
to be zero.
 Conservation of Mechanical Energy
• Conservation in general
• To say a physical quantity is conserved is to say that the
numerical value of the quantity remains constant throughout
any physical process, although the quantities may change form
• In Conservation of Energy, the total mechanical energy
remains constant.
If Wother = 0
• Wother = ΔKE + ΔPE
0= ΔKE + ΔPE
6. A brick is dropped freely from the roof of a 20.0m tall
building. Air resistance may be ignored. What is the
magnitude of the brick’s velocity just before it reaches the
ground?
7. A man stands on the roof of a 15.0m tall building and throws a rock
with a magnitude 30.0m/s at an angle of 33.0o above the horizontal.
Calculate
a) the maximum height above the roof reached by the rock;
b) the magnitude of the velocity of the rock just before it strikes the
ground.
 Potential Energy Stored in a Spring
• The force used in stretching or compressing a spring is a conservative force
• Involves the spring constant, k
• Hooke’s Law gives the force
• Fs = - k x
• Fs is the restoring force
• Fs is in the opposite direction of x
• k depends on how the spring was formed, the material it is made from, thickness of the
wire, etc.
 Potential Energy in a Spring
• Elastic Potential Energy
• Related to the work required to compress
a spring from its equilibrium position to
some final, arbitrary, position x

•
 Spring Potential Energy, Example

• A) The spring is in
equilibrium, neither
stretched or
compressed
• B) The spring is
compressed, storing
potential energy
• C) The block is
released and the
potential energy is
transformed to
kinetic energy of the
block
 Work-Energy Theorem Including a
Spring

• Wother= (KEf – KEi) + (PEgf – PEgi) + (PEsf – PEsi)

• PEg is the gravitational potential energy

• PEs is the elastic potential energy associated with a spring
• PE will now be used to denote the total potential energy of
the system
 Conservation of Energy Including a
Spring

• Wother = 0
• An extended form of conservation of mechanical energy can
be used
– The PE of the spring is added to both sides of the conservation of
energy equation
•
• The same problem-solving strategies apply
– Also need to define the equilibrium position of the spring
 Power
• Often also interested in the rate at which the energy transfer takes
place
• Power is defined as this rate of energy transfer

• F and V are parallel

• SI unit is Watts (W)

•
 Units of Power
1 W = 1 J/s
1 kW = 103 W
6
1 MW = 10 W

kilowatt hours (kWh) are often used in electric bills

This is a unit of energy, not power
 Ex. Force and Power

10. As part of a charity fund-raising drive, a Chicago marathon runner with

mass 50.0 kg runs up the stairs to the top of the 443 m tall tower. To lift
herself to the top in 15.0 min, what must be her average power output in
watts? In kilowatts? In horsepower?
Bibliography:

• College Physics by: Raymond Serway and Chris Vuille

• Physics for Scientist and Engineers with Modern Physics

by: Raymond Serway and John Jewett

• University Physics with Modern Physics

by: Hugh D. Young, Roger A. Freedman, and Lewis Ford