COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Bayombong Campus

DEGREE PROGRAM BSGE COURSE NO. MECH 1B

SPECIALIZATION COURSE TITLE DYNAMICS OF RIGID BODIES
YEAR LEVEL 3 TIME FRAME 15 WK NO. 1&2 IM NO. 3

I. UNIT TITLE/CHAPTER TITLE

CHAPTER 3: KINETICS OF PARTICLES (ENERGY & WORK)

II. LESSON TITLE

ENERGY AND WORK

III. LESSON OVERVIEW

In this chapter, most problems dealing with the motion of particles were solved with the use of
fundamental equation F=ma.

IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES

 To develop the principle of work and energy and apply it to solve problems that involve force, velocity
and displacement.
 To study problems that involve power and efficiency.
 To introduce the concept of a conservative force and apply the theorem of conservation of energy to
solve kinetic problems.

V. LESSON CONTENT

THE WORK OF A FORCE

In mechanics a force F does work on a particle only when the particle undergoes a displacement in the direction of the
force.
• The work dU done by the force F in displacing a particle dr is a scalar quantity defined by

where ds = |dr| and θ is the

•
angle between the tails of dr and F.
Work of a Variable Force. If a particle undergoes a finite displacement along its path from r1 to r2 or s1 to s2
the work done is given by

• Work of a Constant Force Moving Along a

Straight Line. Since both F and θ are constant
(straight line path)
 19
20 Chap. 14 Kinetics of a Particle: Work and Energy

• Work of a Weight W.

(14.1)
where the vertical displacement y is measured positive upward (so the work of the weight is positive if the
particle is displaced downward and negative if displaced upward).
• Work of a Spring Force.
(a) Work of a Spring. The work of a spring is of the form 2
, where k is the spring stiffness and s is the
stretch or compression of the spring.
(b) Work Done ON the Spring. If a spring is elongated or compressed from a position s1 to a further position
s2, the work done on the spring by the force Fs developed in the (linearly elastic) spring is positive, since, in
each case, the force and displacement are in the same direction. Then

(c) Work Done on a Body (or Particle) Attached to a Spring. In this case, the force Fs exerted on the body
is opposite to that exerted on the spring. Hence, the force Fs will do negative work on the body
(particle):

2 1
PRINCIPLE OF WORK AND ENERGY
• The principle of work and energy for a particle is described by the equation
1 2 2

SOLVING PROBLEMS USING THE PRINCIPLE OF

WORK AND ENERGY
• Work (Free-Body Diagram)

– Establish the inertial coordinate system and draw a free-body diagram of the particle in order to
account for all the forces that do work on the particle as it moves along its path.

• Principle of Work and Energy

.
– Apply the principle of work and energy,
– The kinetic energy at the initial and final points is always positive, since it involves the speed squared
(T = 12mv2).
– A force does work when it moves through a displacement in the direction of the force.
– Work is positive when the force component is in the same direction as its displacement, otherwise it is
negative.
– Forces that are functions of displacement must be integrated to obtain the work (see Equation (14.0)).
Graphically, the work is equal to the area under the force-displacement curve.
– The work of a weight is the product of the weight magnitude and the vertical displacement, =±
(see Equation (14.1)). It is positive when the weight moves downwards and negative when
the weight moves upwards.
– The work of a spring is of the form Us 1 ks2=
, where
2
k is the spring stiffness and s is the stretch or
compression of the spring (see also Equations (14.2) and (14.3).

PRINCIPLE OF WORK AND ENERGY FOR A SYSTEM OF

PARTICLES
• The principle of work and energy can be extended to include a system of particles isolated within an enclosed
region of space. Symbolically, the principle looks like
 Note that although the internal forces on adjacent particles occur in equal but opposite collinear pairs, the
total work done by each of these forces will, in general, not cancel out since the paths over which
corresponding particles travel will be different. There are two important exceptions to this rule which often
occur in practice:
– When Particles are Contained Within the Boundary of a Translating Rigid Body.
– When Particles are Connected by Inextensible Cables. In these cases, adjacent particles exert equal but
opposite internal forces that have components which undergo the same displacement, and therefore the
work of these forces cancels.
• Special Class of Problems Involving Work of Friction Caused by Sliding. We note also that Equation (14.5) can
be applied to problems involving sliding friction; however, it should be realized that the work of the
resultant frictional force is not represented by μ k Ns; instead, this term represents both the external work
of friction
(μ k Ns r ) and internal work (μkN(s − sr)) which is converted into various forms of internal energy, such as heat.

POWER AND EFFICIENCY

• Power. Power is defined as the amount of work performed per unit of time. Hence, the power P generated by a
machine or engine which performs an amount of work dU within a time interval dt , is given by

where v is the velocity of the point which is acted upon by the force F.
– Consequently power is a scalar with basic units watt (W) in the SI system and horsepower (hp) in the
FPS system.
1W = 1J /s = 1N · m/s
1hp = 550ft · lb/s
1hp = 746W
• Efficiency. The mechanical efficiency of a machine is defined by

Since machines consist of a series of moving parts, frictional forces will always be developed within the machine.
As a result, extra energy or power is needed to overcome these forces. Consequently, the efficiency of a machine
is always less than one.

COMPUTING THE POWER SUPPLIED TO A BODY

• First determine the external force F acting on the body which causes the motion. This force is usually developed
by a machine or engine placed either within or external to the body.
• If.the body is accelerating, it may be necessary to draw its free-body diagram and apply the equation of motion
( F = ma) to
• Once F and the velocityF.v of the point where F is applied have been found, the power is determined by
determine
multiplying the force magnitude by the component of velocity acting in the direction of F i.e., P = F · v = Fv
cos θ.
• In some problems, the power may be found by calculating the work done by F per unit of time
 CONSERVATIVE FORCES AND POTENTIAL ENERGY
Conservative Force. When the work done by a force in moving a particle from one point to another is independent
• of the path followed by the particle, then this force is called a conservative force. e.g.,

– The work done by the weight of a particle is independent of the path of the particle i.e., the work done
depends only on particle’s vertical displacement.
– The work done by a spring force acting on a particle is independent of the path of the particle i.e., it
depends only on the extension or compression of the spring.
– In contrast, we note that the force of friction exerted on a moving object by a fixed surface depends
on the path of the object i.e., the longer the path, the greater the work. Consequently, frictional forces are
nonconservative. The work is dissipated from the body in the form of heat.

• Potential Energy. Potential energy is a measure of the amount of work a conservative force will do when it
moves from a given position to a reference datum.
– Gravitational Potential Energy. The gravitational potential energy of a particle of weight W is

,
where y is the position of the particle measured positive upward from an arbitrarily selected datum.
– Elastic Potential Energy. The elastic potential energy due to a spring’s configuration (stretched or com-
pressed a distance s from its unstretched position) is

Note that Ve is always positive since, in the deformed position, the force of the spring has the capacity
for always doing positive work on the particle when the spring is returned to its unstretched position.

• Potential Function. In general, if a particle is subjected to both gravitational and elastic forces, the
particle’s potential energy can be expressed as a potential function, which is the algebraic sum
V = Vg + Ve.
• Proving a Force F is Conservative. In fact, a force F is related to its potential function V by the equation
F = −∇V (14.6)

In other words if a force F and its potential function V

satisfy Equation (14.6), then F is a conservative force.

CONSERVATION OF ENERGY
• If only conservative forces are applied to a body, the principle of work and energy becomes the principle of
conservation of (mechanical) energy described by:
T1 + V1 = T2 + V2. (14.7)
In other words, during the motion, the sum of the particle’s kinetic and potential energies remains constant (i.e.,
kinetic energy must be transformed into potential energy and vice versa during the motion).
• System of Particles. If a system of particles is subjected to only conservative forces, the equation of conservation
of energy for the system is
 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: IM-MECH 1B-2S-2021-2022
24 Chap. 14 Kinetics of a Particle: Work and Energy

SOLVING PROBLEMS USING THE CONSERVATION OF

ENERGY (14.7)
The conservation of energy equation is used to solve problems involving velocity, displacement and conservative force
systems. It is generally easier to apply than the principle of work and energy because the energy equation just requires
specifying the particle’s kinetic and potential energies at only two points along the path, rather than determining the
work done when the particle moves through a displacement. The procedure is as follows:
• Potential Energy
– Draw two diagrams showing the particle located at its initial and final points along the path.
– If the particle is subjected to a vertical displacement, establish the fixed horizontal datum from which to
measure the particle’s gravitational potential energy Vg.
– Data pertaining to the elevation y of the particle from the datum and the extension or compression s of any
connecting springs can be determined from the geometry associated with the two diagrams.

• Conservation of Energy
– Apply the equation T1 + V1 = T2 + V2.