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Work and Energy Theorem 1

By the end of this section, the learner will be able to describe and apply the work-energy theorem and describe and calculate work and power. Key terms include kinetic energy, potential energy, joule, watt, and work-energy theorem. Work is the application of force over a distance in the direction of the force. Doing work changes an object's energy. Energy can be in kinetic form as the energy of motion, or potential form such as gravitational potential energy from an object's position.

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Jack Robins
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51 views2 pages

Work and Energy Theorem 1

By the end of this section, the learner will be able to describe and apply the work-energy theorem and describe and calculate work and power. Key terms include kinetic energy, potential energy, joule, watt, and work-energy theorem. Work is the application of force over a distance in the direction of the force. Doing work changes an object's energy. Energy can be in kinetic form as the energy of motion, or potential form such as gravitational potential energy from an object's position.

Uploaded by

Jack Robins
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SECTION LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

 Describe and apply the work–energy theorem


 Describe and calculate work and power

Section Key Terms

gravitational potential kinetic


energy joule mechanic
energy energy
potential work–ene
power watt work
energy theorem

The Work–Energy Theorem

In physics, the term work has a very specific definition. Work is


application of force, f, to move an object over a distance, d, in the
direction that the force is applied. Work, W, is described by the equation

W=fd.

Some things that we typically consider to be work are not work in the
scientific sense of the term. Let’s consider a few examples. Think about
why each of the following statements is true.

 Homework is not work.
 Lifting a rock upwards off the ground is work.
 Carrying a rock in a straight path across the lawn at a constant
speed is not work.

The first two examples are fairly simple. Homework is not work because
objects are not being moved over a distance. Lifting a rock up off the
ground is work because the rock is moving in the direction that force is
applied. The last example is less obvious. Recall from the laws of
motion that force is not required to move an object at constant velocity.
Therefore, while some force may be applied to keep the rock up off the
ground, no net force is applied to keep the rock moving forward at
constant velocity.

Work and energy are closely related. When you do work to move an


object, you change the object’s energy. You (or an object) also expend
energy to do work. In fact, energy can be defined as the ability to do
work. Energy can take a variety of different forms, and one form of
energy can transform to another. In this chapter we will be concerned
with mechanical energy, which comes in two forms: kinetic
energy and potential energy.

 Kinetic energy is also called energy of motion. A moving object


has kinetic energy.
 Potential energy, sometimes called stored energy, comes in several
forms. Gravitational potential energy is the stored energy an
object has as a result of its position above Earth’s surface (or
another object in space). A roller coaster car at the top of a hill has
gravitational potential energy.

Let’s examine how doing work on an object changes the object’s energy.
If we apply force to lift a rock off the ground, we increase the rock’s
potential energy, PE. If we drop the rock, the force of gravity increases
the rock’s kinetic energy as the rock moves downward until it hits the
ground.

The force we exert to lift the rock is equal to its weight, w, which is
equal to its mass, m, multiplied by acceleration due to gravity, g.

f=w=mg

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