Work & Energy

Work
 What is work?
 Work is the application of a force to an object that
causes it to move some displacement (d).
W = Fd
 Note: Work is a scalar quantity, i.e. it has
magnitude, but no direction.
F

d
WORK

If an object or system, such as your body,

exerts a force on an object and that force
causes the object’s position to change, you
are doing work on the object.
Work – Energy Theorem
 The Work-Energy Theorem states that the
work done on an object is equal to its change
in kinetic energy.
 ΔKE = W
 Note: this condition is true only when there is no
friction.

 Units:
 Joule (J)
 1 Joule is equal to the amount of work done by a 1
Newton force over a displacement of 1 meter.
 1 Nm
 1 kg•m2/s2
CALCULATING WORK

 Work is done when the force (F) applied

to the object causes the object to have a
displacement (d) in the same direction
as the force applied. The symbol for
work is a capital W. The work done by a
force can be calculated as:
W=Fd
Sample problem

Suppose a woman is pushing a grocery

cart with a 500 Newton force along the 7
meters aisle, how much work is done in
pushing the cart from one end of the aisle
to the other?
W=Fd
W= 500 N ( 7m)
W= 3500 Nm or 3500 J (Joule)
Calculating Work

 What if the force is not completely in the

same direction as the displacement of
the object?

θ
Calculating Work
 When all the force is not in the same direction as the
displacement of the object, we can use simple trig
(Component Vector Resolution) to determine the
magnitude of the force in the direction of interest.
 Hence:
W = Fdcosθ

F
Fy = Fsinθ
θ

Fx = Fcosθ
Example 1:
 Little
Johnny pulls his loaded wagon 30 meters
across a level playground in 1 minute while
applying a constant force of 75 Newtons. How
much work has he done? The angle between
the handle of the wagon and the direction of
motion is 40°.

d
Example 1:

 Formula: W = Fdcosθ
 Known:
 Displacement: 30 m
 Force 75 N
 θ = 40°

 Time = 1 minute

 Solve:
W = (75N)(30m)cos40° = 1,724 J
Example 2:
 The moon revolves around the Earth approximately
once every 29.5 days. How much work is done by the
gravitational force?

GmmmE
F=
r2

(6.67x10-11Nm2/kg2)(7.35x1022kg)(5.98x1024kg)
F=
(3.84x108m)2

 F = 1.99x1020N
 In one lunar month, the moon will travel 2πrE-m
 d = 2π(3.84x108m) = 2.41x109m
Example 2:
W = Fdcosθ …… HOWEVER!!
 Since:
 θ is 90°, Fcosθ = 0
 While distance is large, displacement is 0, and Fd = 0

 Hence:
 W=0
d
F
Example 3 (cont.):
1. Wworker = Fd = (50N)(10m) = 500J
2. Wfriction = -Fd = (-50N)(10m) = -500J
3. If we add these two results together, we
arrive at 0J of work done on the system by all
the external forces acting on it.
 Alternatively, since the speed is constant, we
know that there is no net force on the system.
 Since Fnet = 0, W = Fd = 0
 Similarly, since the speed does not change:
 Using the work-energy theorem we find that:
 W = ΔKE = ½ mvf2 – ½ mvi2 = 0.
Work and Friction: Example 3
 The crate below is pushed at a constant
speed across the floor through a
displacement of 10m with a 50N force.
1. How much work is done by the worker?
2. How much work is done by friction?
3. What is the total work done?

Ff F

d = 10 m
LESSON 2: Energy
 What is energy?
 The capacity of a physical system to do work.
 What are some forms of energy?
 Kinetic Energy
 Potential Energy
 Gravitational Potential Energy (gravity)
 Elastic Potential Energy (springs, rubber bands)
 Chemical Energy (chemical bonds)
 Rest Mass Energy = Nuclear (E = mc2)
 Electric Potential Energy (ΔU = kq1q2/r)
 Thermal Energy (heat = KE of molecules)
 Sound (waves)
 Light (waves/photons)
Kinetic Energy

 Kinetic Energy is known as the energy of

motion.
 KE = ½ mv2
 If you double the mass, what happens to the
kinetic energy? It doubles.
 If you double the velocity, what happens to the

kinetic energy? It quadruples.

Kinetic Energy & Work
 Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion (Fnet = ma)
 vf2 – vi2 = 2ad

Fnet
 Substituting
m for a:
2 Fnet d
 v2 – v2 =
f i
m

 Multiplying both sides of the equation by ½ m

 ½ mvf2 – ½ mvi2 = Fnetd
Kinetic Energy & Work
 The left side of the mathematical
relationship is equal to the change in
Kinetic Energy of the system.
 KE = ½ mvf2 – ½ mvi2
 The right side of the mathematical
relationship is equal to the amount of
Work done by the environment on the
system.
W = Fnetd
Gravitational Potential Energy
 If
kinetic energy is the energy of motion,
what is gravitational potential energy?
 Stored energy with the “potential” to do work
as a result of the Earth’s gravitational
attraction and the object’s position.
 For example:
 A ball sitting on a table has gravitational potential energy
due to its position. When it rolls off the edge, it falls
such that its weight provides a force over a vertical
displacement. Hence, work is done by gravity.
Gravitational Potential Energy

Gravitational Potential Energy

PE = mgΔh

Work
By substituting Fg for mg,
we obtain:
h
PE = FgΔh
Note: For objects close to the surface
of the Earth:
1. g is constant.
2. Air resistance can be ignored.
Example 4:
 A 60 kg skier is at the top of a slope. By the time
the skier gets to the lift at the bottom of the
slope, she has traveled 100 m in the vertical
direction.
1. If the gravitational potential energy at the
bottom of the hill is zero, what is her
gravitational potential energy at the top of
the hill?
2. If the gravitational potential energy at the top
of the hill is set to zero, what is her
gravitational potential energy at the bottom
of the hill?
Case 1
PE = mgΔh
m = 60 kg
g = 9.81 m/s2
h = 100 m
A PE = (60 kg)(9.81 m/s2)(100 m)
PE = 59000 J
PE = 59 kJ
h = 100m

B
Case 2
PE = mgΔh
m = 60 kg
g = 9.81 m/s2
h = -100 m
B PE = (60 kg)(9.81 m/s2)(-100 m)
PE = -59000 J
PE = -59 kJ
h = 100m

A
Power

 What is it?
 Poweris measure of the amount of work
done per unit of time.
P = W/t
 What are the units?
 Joule/second

 Watts
Example 5:

 RecallingJohnny in Ex. 1 pulling the

wagon across the school yard. He
expended 1,724 Joules of energy over a
period of one minute. How much power
did he expend?
P = W/t
 P = 1724J/60s

 P = 28.7 W
Alternate representations for Power

 As previously discussed:
 Power = Work / Time
 Alternatively:
P = Fd/t
 Since d/t = velocity
P = Fv
 In
this case here, we are talking about an
average force and an average velocity.
Example 4:

A corvette has an aerodynamic drag

coefficient of 0.33, which translates to
about 520 N (117 lbs) of air resistance at
26.8 m/s (60 mph). In addition to this
frictional force, the friction due to the
tires is about 213.5 N (48 lbs).
 Determine the power output of the vehicle at
this speed.
Example 4 (cont.)
 The total force of friction that has to be overcome is a
sum of all the external frictional forces acting on the
vehicle.
 Ff = Fair drag + Ftire resistance
 Ff = 520N + 213.5N = 733.5N
 P = Fv
 P = (733.5N)(26.8 m/s) = 19,657.8 W
 P = 26.4 hp
 If an engine has an output of 350 hp, what is the extra 323.6
horsepower needed for?
 Acceleration
 Plus, at higher speeds the resistive forces due to air and tire
friction increase.
Key Ideas
 Energy of motion is Kinetic Energy = ½ mv 2.
 Work = The amount of energy required to
move an object from one location to another.
 The Work-Energy Theorem states that the
change in kinetic energy of a system is equal
to the amount of work done by the
environment on that system.
 Power is a measure of the amount of work
done per unit of time.