ENGGPHYSICS Physics for Engineers

CHAPTER IV. WORK, POWER AND ENERGY

 LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY

TOTAL MECHANICAL ENERGY

The total energy (potential and kinetic) is also called the total mechanical energy of
an object.
Note that “Mechanical” energy doesn’t mean that it always has to involve machines.
An apple falling off a cliff has gravitational potential and kinetic energy, so it therefore
has mechanical energy.

Where: Em = Total Mechanical Energy of an object

Ek = Kinetic Energy of an object
Ep = Potential Energy of an object

In many questions regarding energy, we assume that we are dealing with an isolated
system. An isolated system simply means a situation where nothing, not even energy, can
enter or leave.
 Since isolated systems can't lose or gain energy, we have to be careful that
nonconservative forces (such as friction) do not happen.
 Also, if work is done on or by the system it will change the energy of the system. In
that case it can not be an isolated system.
 As long as we deal with isolated systems we know that the total mechanical energy
before and after will be equal.
Em = Em'
Ek + Ep = Ek' + Ep'
 So if the one type of energy decreases, the other type of energy will increase by a
similar amount.
 Energy is not being created or changed, it is only changing forms or transferring
from one object to another. This is known as the Law of Conservation of Energy.

LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY

The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor be
destroyed. Although, it may be transformed from one form to another. If you take all forms
of energy into account, the total energy of an isolated system always remains constant. All
the forms of energy follow the law of conservation of energy. In brief, the law of
conservation of energy states that

In a closed system, i.e., a system that is isolated from its surroundings, the total energy of the
system is conserved.

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Sample Problems:
1. A 14,300 kg airplane is flying at an altitude of 497 m at a speed of 214 km/h. Determine
the airplane's total mechanical energy.
Given: m = 14,300 kg
h = 497 m
v = 214 km/h
Solution:

Notice that the calculation and the answer have nothing to do with direction, since energy is
scalar.

2. A kid is sitting on a toboggan at the top of a 23.7m tall hill. If the kid and toboggan have
a total mass of 37.3 kg , determine how fast they will be going when they reach the
bottom of the hill.
Given: h1 = 23.7 m
m = 37.3 kg
Note: Assume there is no friction.
• If there was friction, then it would not be an isolated system. The frictional force
would result in some heat being given off, which would be energy leaving the system.
• At the top of the hill the kid isn’t moving, so Ek will be zero. At the bottom of the hill
the Ep will be zero because the person is zero metres above the reference point.

Solution:

Notice how in this example all of the potential energy the object had at the top of the hill has
been turned completely into kinetic energy at the bottom.
• This is not always the case! We do not always change one energy type completely
into another energy type.

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3. I decide to show the kid in the previous example how we used to do it back in my
day. I grab a crazy carpet and go running towards the edge of the hill. I jump onto the
crazy carpet moving at 3.1m/s just as I go over the edge of the hill and start going
down. Determine how far from the bottom of the hill I am when I am going as fast as
the kid did at the bottom in the last question.
Given: m = 37.3 kg
h1 = 23.7 m
v1 = 3.1 m/s
v2 = 21.56 m/s

Solution:

m can be factored out on both equation, thus it

can be cancelled

4. The 7.50 kg box starts on the floor, and the 12.00 kg box is 3.00 m above the floor. The
boxes are released. Determine the speed of the 7.50 kg box as the 12.0 kg box hits the
floor
This problem will be addressed differently unlike the other sample
problems. Let’s take it step by step:
a. The total mechanical energy before anything starts to move
must be equal to the total mechanical energy at the end.

b. Before they start to move (no kinetic energy present), only one
of the masses has any energy; the 12.00 kg box is 3.0m in the
air. Its potential energy is the total mechanical energy.

c. At the end both boxes will have kinetic energy, but we don't
know how much (since we don't know the velocity). We do know that when the 12.00
kg box hits the floor, the 7.50 kg box will be 3.0m in the air. We can easily calculate
how much potential energy the 7.50 kg mass will have at that time.

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d. Which means that we are missing an energy of (353.16 – 220.73) 132.43 J of energy
at the end. This must be the kinetic energy of the two masses as they are moving at
the end. Note that the velocity that the 12 kg mass has as it drops to the floor is also
equal to the velocity that the 7.5 kg has as it rises.

Note that the velocity of both boxes is 3.69 m/s, just in opposite directions.

5. A boy of mass 66 kg rides his skateboard at a local skate park. He rests at the top of the
track as seen in the figure below, and begins a descent down the track, always
maintaining contact with the surface. The mass of the skateboard is negligible, as is the
friction.
a. What is the boy’s speed when he reaches the bottom of the initial dip, 18 m below
the starting point?
b. He then ascends the other side of the dip to the top of the hill, 10 m above the
ground. What is his speed when he reaches this point?

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Solution:
a.

b.

6. Consider the falling and rolling motion of a 2 kg ball in the following figure and
complete the values of the unknown.

Note: On any point on the slope, the total mechanical energy is equal. So it means that
the total mechanical energy at the topmost is also equal to the total mechanical energy
at the bottom.
At the topmost, we are given the value of the Potential and Kinetic energy. We
only need to add the two to calculate the total mechanical energy.

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A. Since we are given the value of the Potential energy, we can use the calculated value
of the mechanical energy to solve for the Kinetic energy.

B.

C. For letter C, we can notice from the figure that the ball is still on the same
elevation/height, with the previous position. Since there is no change in height, we
can conclude that the potential energy is unchanged.

D. Since the potential energy did not change, the kinetic energy is also unchanged.
This can be proven by solving for the value,

E.

F. Since the position of the ball is on the ground, the value of altitude/height is zero.
Thus the value of the potential energy will be zero.

G. Since we calculated the value of the potential energy, we can calculate the kinetic
energy.

H.

I. Since the position of the ball is on the ground, the value of altitude/height is zero.
Thus the value of the potential energy will be zero.

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J. Since we calculated the value of the potential energy, we can calculate the kinetic
energy.

K.

7. If the frictional forces and air resistance were acting upon the falling ball in no 6, would
the kinetic energy of the ball just before it hits the ground be more, less or equal to the
value predicted?
The kinetic energy would be less in a situation that involves friction. Friction would do
negative work and thus remove mechanical energy from the rolling ball.

8. Determine the ski jumper’s (mass of approximately 50 kg) speed at locations B, C, D

and E.

At all the points, we are already given the values of the corresponding kinetic and
potential energy. We only need to consider now the kinetic energy to solve for the
values of the speed at the different locations.
@B

@C

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@D

@E

9. An object which weighs 10 N is dropped from rest from a height of 4 meters above the
ground. When it has fallen 1 meter, its total mechanical energy with respect to the
ground is .
We can calculate the mechanical energy of the object before it was dropped.
Through the law of conservation of energy, we can state that the mechanical energy will
not change thus when it has fallen 1 meter, its mechanical energy is still the same.

Note that the velocity when it will be dropped is zero (free fall)

10. During a certain time interval, a 20 N object free falls 10 meters. The object gains how
much joules of kinetic energy during this interval?
The total amount of mechanical energy is conserved in free fall situations (since there
are no external forces doing work like friction or air resistance). Thus the potential
energy that is lost is transformed into kinetic energy. Be careful that you do not confuse
the mass and the weight.

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 WORK-ENERGY THEOREM

According to Newton’s second law of motion, the sum of all the forces acting on a
particle, or the net force, determines the rate of change in the momentum of the particle, or
its motion. Therefore, we should consider the work done by all the forces acting on a
particle, or the net work, to see what effect it has on the particle’s motion.
The net work done on a particle equals the change in the particle’s kinetic energy:

According to this theorem, when an object slows down, its final kinetic energy is less
than its initial kinetic energy, the change in its kinetic energy is negative, and so is the net
work done on it. If an object speeds up, the net work done on it is positive. When
calculating the net work, you must include all the forces that act on an object. If you leave
out any forces that act on an object, or if you include any forces that don’t act on it, you will
get a wrong result.
What is gained by using the work-energy theorem? The importance of the work-
energy theorem, and the further generalizations to which it leads, is that it makes some
types of calculations much simpler to accomplish than they would be by trying to solve
Newton’s second law. For an arbitrary curved surface, the normal force is not constant, and
Newton’s second law may be difficult or impossible to solve analytically. Constant or not, for
motion along a surface, the normal force never does any work, because it’s perpendicular to
the displacement. A calculation using the work-energy theorem avoids this difficulty and
applies to more general situations.

Sample Problems:
1. A body of mass 2 kg is initially at rest on a horizontal frictionless plane. It is then pulled
4 m by a horizontal force of magnitude 25 N. Use the work-energy relation to find its
final speed.
Given: m = 2 kg
Vi = 0
d=4m
F = 25 N

Solution:

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2. In problem 1, suppose the body has an initial velocity of 10 m/s and is then pulled 4 m
by a force of magnitude 25 N in the direction of the initial velocity. What is the final
velocity?
Given: m = 2 kg
Vi = 10 m/s
d=4m
F = 25 N

Solution:

3. A body of mass 8 kg moves in a straight line on a horizontal frictionless surface. At one

point in its path its speed is 4 m/s and after it has travelled 3 m its speed is 5 m/s in the
same direction. Find the force acting on the body.
Given: m = 8 kg
V1 = 4 m/s
V2 = 5 m/s
d=3m

Solution:

4. An 8 kg block is moving at 3.2 m/s. A net force of 10 N is constantly applied on the block
in the direction of its movement, until it has moved 16 m. What is the approximate final
velocity of the block?
Given: m = 8 kg
V1 = 3.2 m/s
F= 10 N
d = 16 m

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Solution:

5. Suppose a 30 kg package on the roller belt conveyor is moving at 0.5 m/s.

a. What is its kinetic energy?
b. Suppose the same package will be pushed with constant force F through a distance
of 0.8 m, calculate the value of the force.
Given: m = 30 kg
V = 0.5 m/s
d = 0.8 m

Solution:
a.

b.

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