Lesson 1: Work, Energy, and Power

Unit 1:Work
If a force is applied to an object over some distance, the force is said to
have done work on the object. The work done is equal to the product of
the force and the distance through which the force acts. Work is
measured in SI units in joules (J)

kg m2
1J=1N∗m=1 SI Unit
s2

𝑔 𝑐𝑚2 cgs
1 𝑒𝑟𝑔 = 1 𝑑𝑦𝑛𝑒 ∗ 𝑐𝑚 = 1
𝑠2

𝑙𝑏𝑓 ∗ 𝑓𝑡 British engineering system

Unit 1:Work
Although work is always the product of force and distance, there are
simpler expressions if the force is constant or in the direction of motion.
We’ll look at these special cases before examining the general case.
Unit 1:Work
Case # 1:
Suppose the applied force is constant and parallel to the direction of
motion. Then the work done by the force “F” acting through a
displacement is simply.

𝑊=𝐹𝑥 Force OBJECT OBJECT

X
Illustrative Example:
Suppose you have a box sitting on the floor. You apply a force of 50 N to the box over a
distance of 4 meters, causing it to accelerate. What is the work done on the box?
Unit 1:Work
Case # 2:
Suppose the applied force “F” is still constant, but not necessarily in the
direction of motion. Then the work done by the force is equal to the
component of “F” that is in the direction of motion times the displacement
over which the force is applied.
Illustrative Example:
Suppose a constant force F of
magnitude F = 60 N acting
𝜃 OBJECT OBJECT 30° from the horizontal is applied
to a box sitting on the floor for a
horizontal distance of 12 m.
What is the work done on the
X box?
Unit 1:Work
Case # 3:
suppose the force F is in the direction of motion, but suppose F is not
constant, but is a function of position x. Now take the straight-line path
over which object moves and divide it into many infinitesimal segments,
each of length dx. Then over distance dx, the force F can be considered
constant, and the work “W” done over distance dx is F(x)dx. To get the
total work done by the force F , we sum up all these contributions F dx by
doing an integral:

𝑊 = න 𝐹 𝑥 𝑑𝑥
Example. For a mass on a spring, the work done by the spring force is
given by Hooke’s law: F(x)=-kx, where k is the spring constant.

𝑊 = න 𝐹 𝑥 𝑑𝑥
Example. A force of 20N is required to stretch a spring 15 cm. beyond its
natural length. How much work is done to stretch a spring from its natural
length to 25cm.?
𝐹 = 𝑘𝑥

A spring has a natural length of 18 inches and a force of 20 lbs is required

to stretch and hold the spring to a length of 24 inches. What is the work
required to stretch the spring from a length of 21 inches to a length of 26
inches?
𝐹 = 𝑘𝑥
A 20 m. cable weighs 80 N. and hangs from the top of a building that is 150m.
high .
1. How much work that must be done to lift the bottom end of the chain all
the way up on the top of the building?

2. How much work that must be done to lift the half of the chain to the top of
the building?

3. How much work that must be done to lift the remaining half of the chain to
the top of the building?
A 20 m. cable weighs 80 N. and a mass that weighs 200 N. is attached to the
chain that hangs from the top of a building that is 150 ft. high .

1. How much work that must be done to lift the mass all the way up on the
top of the building?

2. How much work that must be done to lift the mass at 10ft. higher from its
initial positing top of the building?

3. How much work that must be done to lift the mass at the remaining half of
the chain to the top of the building?
Unit 2: Energy
• Something possessed by objects that move or that do not move but
have the capacity to move.
• 2 Main types:
a. Kinetic Energy – energy due to motion
b. Potential Energy – energy due to position
Kinetic Energy
Kinetic energy is the energy a body has as a consequence of it being in
motion. If a body is at rest, it has zero kinetic energy; if it is in motion, it has
more kinetic energy the faster it’s going. Kinetic energy is defined to be
the amount of work required to accelerate a body of mass m from rest to
velocity v. We can compute an explicit formula for it as follows: by
definition, the kinetic energy K is, by

𝐾𝐸 = 𝑊 = න 𝐹 𝑑𝑥
𝐾𝐸 = 𝑊 = න 𝐹 𝑑𝑥

Applying Newton’s second law; 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎

𝐾𝐸 = 𝑊 = න 𝑚𝑎 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑣
𝑑𝑣
𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑥
𝑎= = → ∗
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑡
𝐾𝐸 = 𝑊 = න 𝑚 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑥
=
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑥
𝐾 = 𝑊 = න𝑚 𝑑𝑥 Cancelling dx in denominator with the final dx
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑡
 𝑣
𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝐾𝐸 = 𝑊 = න 𝑚 𝑑𝑥 = න 𝑚 𝑑𝑣
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑡 0 𝑑𝑡
𝑣
𝑑𝑥
𝐾𝐸 = 𝑊 = න 𝑚 𝑑𝑣
0 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑥
=𝑣
𝑑𝑡
𝑣 𝑣 2 𝑣
𝑣 1 2 1 2 1
𝐾𝐸 = 𝑊 = න 𝑚 𝑣 𝑑𝑣 = 𝑚 න 𝑣 𝑑𝑣 = 𝑚 =𝑚 𝑣 − 0 = 𝑚𝑣 2
2 2 2 2
0 0 0

1
𝐾𝐸 = 𝑚𝑣 2
2
Potential Energy
Potential Energy is stored energy; Once the potential energy is released, it
can do work.

𝑈 = 𝑚𝑔ℎ
Unit 3: Power
Power is the rate of change of energy (or work) with respect to time.
𝑑𝐸 𝑊 𝐹 ∗ 𝑑
𝑃= = = = 𝐹𝑣
𝑑𝑡 𝑡 𝑡

In SI unit, power is measured in units of watts (W):

𝐽 𝑘𝑔 𝑚2
1𝑊 = 1 = 1
𝑠 𝑠3
In CGS units, power is measured in units of statwatts:
𝑒𝑟𝑔 𝑔 𝑐𝑚2
1 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡 = 1 =1
𝑠 𝑠3
Another common unit that is not part of the British engineering system is
the horsepower (hp): 1 hp = 550 ft-lbf/sec, or about 745.7 watts. The
power produced by an automobile engine is traditionally measured in
horsepower.
Sample Problem:
A machine that exert an average force of 2250N to push large crates on a
distance of 350 meters in 3 minutes. Determine the power output required
of that machine.

An house appliance has a power rating of 200W and it is used 4 hours per
day if the cost of per kW-hr in that area is ₱ 9.95, what will be the cost of 1
month consumption of that appliance? (1month = 30 days)
A machine that exert an average force of 2250N to push large
crates on a distance of 350 meters in 3 minutes. Determine the
power output required of that machine.
An house appliance has a power rating of 200W and it is used 4 hours per
day if the cost of per kW-hr in that area is ₱ 9.95, what will be the cost of 1
month consumption of that appliance? (1month = 30 days)
Energy Conversion of a Falling Body
As an example, let’s look at a body of mass m (near the surface of the
Earth) released from height h and falling under the influence of gravity. As
the body falls, we’ve noted that the initial potential energy is gradually
converted to kinetic energy, until at impact, when the energy is all kinetic.
At what rate are these energies changing with time? (These rates of
change will be powers, in watts.) Let’s start with the kinetic energy: the time
rate of change of kinetic energy is
1
𝐾𝐸 = 𝑚𝑣 2
2
𝑑𝐾𝐸 1 𝑑 2 1 𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑣
= 𝑚 𝑣 = 𝑚 2𝑣 = 𝑚𝑣 = 𝑚𝑣𝑔 = 𝑚𝑔𝑣
𝑑𝑡 2 𝑑𝑡 2 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝐾𝐸
= 𝑚𝑣𝑔 = 𝑚𝑔𝑣 = 𝐹𝑔 𝑣
𝑑𝑡
𝑃 = 𝐹𝑔 𝑣
Energy Conversion of a Falling Body

Now what is the time rate of change of potential energy?

𝑈=𝑚𝑔ℎ
𝑑𝑈 𝑑
= (−) 𝑚𝑔ℎ
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑈 𝑑ℎ
= − 𝑚 𝑔
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑈
= − 𝑚𝑔𝑣
𝑑𝑡
So as the body falls, its kinetic energy K increases at the rate dK/dt = mgv,
while the potential energy U decreases at the rate dU/dt = -mgv.
Therefore the total energy E = K + U remains constant, which is consistent
with the conservation of energy.
A 200 kg steel beam falls from a crane onto the ground 30 m below? What
speed does it hit the ground with? (Ignore air resistance.)