ENERGY

Energy is the capacity to do work. The SI units are Joule (J).

SOURCES OF ENERGY
There are two categories of Sources of energy ie Renewable and non-renewable.
Renewable: These are energy sources that can be recycled eg Solar,
Wind, Geothermal and Waterfalls
Non-Renewable: These are energy sources that cannot be recycled eg,
Petroleum, charcoal, natural gas, firewood, coal, biogas, Nuclear energy
FORMS OF ENERGY
(i) Chemical ~ requires burning to be used eg fuels.
(ii) Wave energy ~ produced by sound, light and ocean tides.
(iii) Electrical energy ~ produced by electrical generators.
(iv) Mechanical energy ~ it includes Potential energy and Kinetic energy

LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY

It states that “Energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can only be
transformed from one form to another”
A device that transformation energy is called a transducer eg
(i) Motor ~ Converts Electrical energy to kinetic energy.
(ii) Microphone ~ Converts Sound to electrical energy
(iii) Loudspeaker ~Converts Electrical energy to sound energy
WORK
Work is done only when a force moves an object thru a displacement.
Work done = Force x Displacement
W=FxS
The SI unit is Joule (J), or Newton meter(Nm)
Since force is a vector quantity, the work done can be +ve or -ve.
EXAMPLE
1. Calculate the work done in pushing a box of 2000N for a distance of 30cm..
2. A car of mass 800kg initially moving at 25 m/s is brought to rest over a
distance of 20 m. Calculate
(i) The force needed to stop the car. (ANS -12500N)
(ii) The work done. (ANS 250,000J)
3. A car of mass 600kg is initially moving at 20m/s. calculate the work done
in bringing the car to rest over a distance of 100m. (ANS -120,000J)
POWER
This is the rate of doing work. It is the measure of how fast a device can perform
a given task.
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐱𝐒
𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝐏=
𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭
The SI unit of power is Watt (W) or Note; If the body is moving with a
Joule per second (J/s) uniform velocity, then
𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 = 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒙 𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚
FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 1
EXAMPLE
1. A force of 500 N is used to pull a box thru a distance of 2m in 8s determine
i) Work done.
(1000J)
ii) Power developed. (125W)
2. A force of 600N drags a block at a constant velocity of 5m/s. Calculate the
power output. (3,000W)
3. A bullet of mass 50g traveling at a velocity of 300m/s penetrates a sand
bag and is brought to rest in 0.06 s. Find:
(i) The depth of penetration. (9m)
(ii) The average retarding force of the sand. (250N)
(iii) The work done. (2250J)
(iv) The power dissipated (37,500)

POTENTIAL ENERGY (P.E)

This is energy possessed due to position of the object. It is possessed
by a body that is lifted to a height h.
PE = work done
PE = Force x distance
PE = mg x h where m = mass of object
PE = mgh g = gravity
h = height
EXAMPLE
1. A load of 10kg is raised 20m in 50s. Calculate;
(i) The gain in potential energy
(ii) The power developed
2. A lady of mass 80 kg walks up a flight of 10 stairs each 20 cm high.
Determine the work done.
3. A crane lifts a load of 2000kg through a vertical distance of 3m in 6
seconds. Determine the power developed by the crane.
Elastic Potential Energy ~ it is possessed by a compressed or
stretched elastic spring. The work done is equal to the energy is stored in the
spring in form of elastic P.E.
When a spring is stretched the force varies from 0 to maximum force F hence a
graph of force F against the extension e is a straight line thru the origin.
𝑭
Fe
Force F (N)

𝟏
𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 = 𝒙𝒆 = 𝟐
𝟐

Hence P.E = Area under the curve

But from Hooke’s law F = ke. Hence
𝟏
Extension e (m) 𝐏𝐄= 𝒌𝐞 𝒙 𝐞
𝟐
𝟎+𝑭 𝑭
𝑨𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 = = 𝟏
𝟐 𝟐 ∴ 𝐏 𝐄 = 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 = 𝟐
𝒌𝐞𝟐
Work done = Average force x dist

FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 2

EXAMPLE
1. A force of 80N stretches a spring by 50cm. Calculate:
a) The spring constant.
b) The work done.
2. Determine the work done in stretching the spring by 6cm
300

Force (N) 200

100

0 2 4 6 8
Extension (cm)
3. Figure below shows a force distance graph for a car being moved on a
horizontal ground
1500
Force (N)

A 20 40 60 80 100
Distance (m)
-1000 F

(i) Calculate total work done

F when the car moved from A to F.
(ii)Determine the power of the car if it takes 0.6s to move it from A to F.

KINETIC ENERGY (K.E)

This is energy possessed due to motion of a body eg a moving bullet.
For a body of mass m starting from rest to a final velocity v. then

𝟏
𝐊. 𝐄 = 𝐦 𝐯𝟐
𝟐

However if the body moves from an initial velocity U to a final velocity V, then
𝟏 𝟏
𝐊. 𝐄 = 𝟐 𝐦 𝐯 𝟐 − 𝐦 𝒖𝟐
𝟐
EXAMPLE
1. A car of mass 800 kg initially moving at 25 m/s is brought to rest over a
distance of 20m. Calculate the KE lost.
2. A bullet traveling at 300ms-1 strikes a thick wall and escapes on the other
side of the wall in 0.005 seconds at a velocity of 100 ms-1, if the mass of
the bullet is 20g, determine
(i) The work done.
(ii) The power developed.
3. A trolley of mass 20kg is pulled from rest by a force of 50N for 4s on a
frictionless surface. Calculate the power dissipated.

FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 3

CONSERVATION OF ENERGY AT INTERCHANGE OF P.E AND K.E
Consider a pendulum swinging from point A to C below

A C h
B
At point A and C the pendulum has max PE due to height h (PE = mgh) while
KE is zero. At B the pendulum has the highest velocity hence KE is max
𝟏
KE = 𝒎𝐯 𝟐 while PE is zero.
𝟐
The max PE at A and C is always equal to the max KE gained at B ie
PE lost = KE gained
𝟏
mgh = 𝒎𝐯 𝟐
𝟐
As PE reduces KE increases. A graph of KE and PE against time is as below.

P .E
Energy (J)

K.E
Time (S)
EXAMPLE
1. A ball is dropped vertically from the top of a cliff. If it attains a velocity of
20m/s as it hits the ground, find the height of the cliff.
2. A 40 tonne rocket takes off vertically and attains a velocity of 600m/s at an
altitude of 20km. Calculate its KE and PE at this point.
4. The diagram below shows a pendulum bob mass 200g swinging freely.
Determine the velocity of the bob at position B.

A C 45cm
h=45cm
B
5. A metal ball of mass 2kg is released from A and swings to B. Given that the
maximum velocity at the lowest point B is 2.5 m/s. Find the height h from
which the ball is released.

4m

A
h
B
FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 4
 MACHINES
A machine is a device that uses a force at one point to overcome a load
at another point. It’s a device that enables work to be done more easily or
conveniently. Simple machines include. Levers, wheel and axle, inclined
plane, the screw, gears, pulleys and hydraulic machines.
TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH MACHINES
1. EFFORT(E)
This is the force applied to the machine. The SI unit is Newton (N).
2. LOAD (L)
This is the force exerted by the machine. The SI unit is Newton (N).
3. MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE (M A)
This is the ratio of load to effort.
𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝑳
𝐌𝐀= =
𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝑬
MA is a ratio and hence has no units. The MA of a machine depends on
(i) Friction btn moving parts ~ The greater the friction, the smaller the MA.
(ii) Weight of parts of machine that have to be lifted with the load ~ The
lighter the parts the higher the MA.
The MA of a machine increases as the load is increased

MA

0 LOAD (N)

4. VELOCITY RATIO (VR)

This is the ratio of dist moved by effort to dist moved by the load.
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕
𝐕𝐑 =
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅
The VR shows how many more times the effort moves than the load.
If several machines eg A, B and C with velocity ratios VRA, VRB and VRC are
combined then the resultant VR is their product.
VR = VRA x VRB x VRC
(e) EFFICIENCY
This is the ratio of work output to work input as a percentage.

𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕
𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 = 𝐱 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒊𝒏𝒑𝒖𝒕
Work output is the work done by the machine on the load. ie

Work output = Load x Load distance

FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 5

 Work input is the work done by the effort. ie

Work input = Effort x Effort distance

𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝐱 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕
∴ 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 = 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝐱 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕
The efficiency of a machine is always less than 100% because of;
(i) Energy wasted while overcoming friction in form of heat and sound.
(ii) Energy wasted in raising parts of the machine.
The graph of efficiency against load is as shown. As the load increases the
efficiency increases
100 %

EFFFICIENCY

0 LOAD (N)

In terms of MA and VR, the efficiency can also be given as

𝐌𝐀
𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 = 𝐱 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝐕𝐑
EXAMPLE
1. An effort of 30N is used to raise a load of 90N. If the load moves 2m when
the effort moves 8m, calculate the
(i) MA.
(ii) VR
(iii) Work output
(iv) Work input
(v) Efficiency
2. When an effort of 150N is applied on mass of 300kg, the mass is raised by
4m when the effort moves for 100m. Calculate the efficiency of the machine

SIMPLE MACHINES
LEVERS
A lever is a machine whose operation relies on the principle of moments eg
beam balance, wheelbarrow, human arm etc.
It has three important parts ie
(i) Effort arm
(ii) Load arm
(iii) Pivot / fulcrum A

Effort
O

Load

B
FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 6
 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒎 (𝑶𝑨)
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝑹 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝑽𝑹=
𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝑨𝒓𝒎 (𝑶𝑩)
There are three classes of levers ie
(i) Levers with pivot btn load and effort eg hammer, beam balance, pliers.
(ii) Levers with load btn pivot and effort eg wheelbarrow, nutcrackers.
(iii) Levers with effort btn pivot and load eg human arm, fishing rod.

EXAMPLE
1. Figure shows a lever.
2.5m 10m

120N

Determine
(i) The effort applied
(ii) The VR.
(iii) The MA.
(iv) The efficiency.
2. The figure below shows a lever of negligible mass pivoted at point P and
attached on the side of a small piston of a hydraulic press. A force of 100N
is applied at R.
10 cm 5 cm

R P Fixed

100 N

Calculate
(i) The force F exerted by small piston on the liquid.
(ii) The VR of the lever.
(iii) The MA of the lever.

WHEEL AND AXLE

It consists of a large wheel of radius R attached to an axle of radius r eg
steering wheel of a car, screwdrivers, drilling bit, the windlass etc
Axle
Wheel

r
R

Load

Effort
The effort is applied to the wheel while the load is attached to the axle. In one
complete turn, the effort moves thru a dist of 2𝛑R while the load moves thru
2𝛑r. Hence
𝟐π 𝐑 𝐑
𝐕𝐑= =
𝟐π 𝐫 𝐫

FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 7

 EXAMPLE
1. The figure below shows the cross – is turned on a radius of 70 cm to
section of a wheel and axle of radius raise a bucket of water out of mass
6cm and 1.5cm respectively. If the 4kg of the well.
efficiency of the system is 75%.
Calculate the effort needed
Wheel
28cm
Axle
70cm
50N
150N
Handl
2. The figure below shows a windlass. e
Calculate:
A rope is wound around the drum of
(i) The VR of the machine.
diameter 28 cm and an effort of
(ii) The efficiency of the windlass.
10N is applied on the handle which

THE INCLINED PLANE

This is a slope that allows a load to be raised more gradually by using a smaller
effort than if it were lifted vertically upwards.

Load h (m)
Effort
𝛉
The effort moves along the slope L while the load is raised vertically thru h.
𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 Hence 𝒉 = 𝐋 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽
𝐕𝐑= Thus
𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
𝐋 𝑳
𝑳 𝐕𝐑= =
𝐕𝐑= 𝐡 𝐋 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽
𝒉
𝑳 1
But 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 = 𝐕𝐑=
𝒉 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽

NOTE: The efficiency of the plane increases as the angle θ decreases.

Some simple machines that applies the principle of inclined plane include;
screws, bolts, wind roads
EXAMPLE

FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 8

1. A man uses an effort of 800N to
lift a load of 1200N over the
inclined plane below.

800N
h 5m 1200N
3. A man uses the inclined plane
30 0
below to lift a 480N load thru
a height of 4m
Calculate;
(i) The VR
4m
(ii) The height h
(iii) The work output
(iv) The work input.
200
(v) The efficiency.
2. The figure below shows a trolley of If the plane is 60% efficient
weight 20N pulled by a force of 4N calculate:
from the bottom to the top of an (i) The effort needed
inclined plane at a uniform speed. (ii) The work output
Determine the efficiency of the (iii) The work input.
system
Effort
5m
40 m

THE SCREW
FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 9
 The threads of a screw are a continuous inclined plane wound on a cylindrical
rod. The dist btn two consecutive threads is called pitch. A screw can be
combined with a lever to make a screw jack for lifting vehicles

R LOAD
R Handle
Pitch

Pitch

In one revolution the effort moves thru 2𝛑R while the load is moved thru a dist
equal to one pitch.
𝟐𝛑𝐑
𝐕𝐑=
𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉
EXAMPLE
1. The handle of screw jack shown below is 14cm long and the pitch of the
screw 14cm
is 0.5cm

0.5cm

(i) What is the VR.

(ii) What load can be lifted by the jack when an effort of 20N is applied if the
efficiency of the jack is 60%.
2. A screw is used to drill a hole into a metal surface as shown below.
35 cm Handle

11 mm

An effort of 200N is required to overcome the resistance force in drilling a hole. If

the efficiency is 75%. Determine the resistance force.
GEARS
This is a machine that rotates on its axis and has equally spaced teeth (cogs).

n teeth N
teeth

Effort Load
gear gear
The effort gear is called the driver wheel while the load gear is called the
driven wheel.
𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍 (𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅)
𝐕𝐑=
𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍 (𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕)
FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 10
 EXAMPLE
Calculate the combined VR of the gears below.
8 teeth

16 teeth 24 teeth

LOAD
EFFORT

PULLEY BELTS
It consists two pulley wheels connected with a belt or a chain.

Driving R r Driven pulley

pulley

LOAD
EFFORT
If R is the radius of the driving pulley and r is the radius of the driven pulley, then

𝑹𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍 (𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝)

𝐕𝐑=
𝑹𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍 (𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭)
𝒓
𝐕𝐑=
𝑹
EXAMPLE
1. Calculate the VR of the pulley belt below
R=50cm
r=20cm

Load
2. In the figureEffort
below, the effort wheel has 32 teeth and a radius of 36cm while
the load wheel has 16 teeth and 9cm. calculate the VR of the machine.

Load
Effort

PULLEY
A pulley is a wheel with a groove that accommodates a string around it.
SINGLE FIXED PULLEY

FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 11

Load
 The effort moves thru the same dist as the load hence the VR is 1.

SINGLE MOVABLE PULLEY

It has a pulley that can move up and down. The pulley is of two types as shown
below.

Effort Effort

Load Load

The VR of this pulley is 2 ie when the effort moves by 2m the load moves by 1m.
NOTE: To get the VR of a pulley, count the number of strings
supporting the load on the movable pulley.

BLOCK AND TACKLE PULLEY SYSTEM

This is a set of pulleys mounted on a block where one is movable while the other is fixed.

Effort

Load
EXAMPLE
1. A block and tackle pulley system with a velocity ratio of 5 and 60% efficiency
is used to lift a load of load of 600N thru a vertical height of 2m.
(i) Draw the used block and tackle pulley system.
(ii) Calculate the work done by the effort.
2. A mechanic uses a pulley system with a velocity ratio of 6 to raise an engine,
of weight 3000N thru a vertical distance of 1.5m. The mechanic pulls with an
effort of 500N. Sketch the pulley system used and Calculate
(i) The effort distance.
(ii) The work done by the effort (mechanic)
(iii) The useful work done by the pulley machine.
(iv) The mechanical advantage of the machine.
(v) The efficiency of the machine.
3. Figure shows a block and tackle pulley system lifting a load of 500N
FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 12
 Effort

500N

(i) Determine the VR of the machine

(ii) If an effort of 120N is applied determine the efficiency of the pulley

HYDRAULIC MACHINE
EFFORT LOAD

Effort piston A1 Load piston A2

Liquid

If the large piston has a radius R while the effort piston has a radius r, the VR of
the machine is given by:

𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝐀𝟐

𝐕𝐑= =
𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝐀𝟏
𝝅 𝐑𝟐
𝐕𝐑=
𝝅 𝐫𝟐

𝐑𝟐
𝐕𝐑= 𝟐
𝐫
EXAMPLE
1. The diagram below shows the principle of the hydraulic car jack that has a
master piston of radius 7cm and slave piston of radius 21 cm.

E 1800N

Master piston Slave piston

Oil

(i) Determine the velocity ratio of the hydraulic jack

(ii) If the small piston moves down a distance of 7.2cm, determine how
far upwards the larger piston moves.

FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 13

 (iii) Determine;
(a) The effort exerted at the master piston
(b) The efficiency of the system
2. The figure below shows a hydraulic press system using a lever of negligible
mass on the side of a small piston pivoted at point P. A force of 120N is
applied at R.
100 cm 50 cm
A Bale

R P
Area= 240cm2
120 N A =60 cm2
Liquid

Calculate
(i) The effort exerted at the smaller piston.
(ii) The V.R of the lift
(iii) The M.A of the system
(iv) The efficiency of the system
3. The diagram below represents a motor car hydraulic braking system
180 mm2
120 mm2
5 cm
20cm

Brake pedal
Master piston
Slave piston

(i) Find the velocity ratio of the system.

(ii) An effort of 200N is applied on the brake pedal, calculate
(a) The force applied to the master piston
(b) The force experienced at the slave piston
(c) The efficiency of the system

FORM 3NOTES: W O R K, E N E R G Y, P O W E R & M A C H I N E Pg 14