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CHAPTER 6:

WORK, ENERGY AND POWER

INTRODUCTION:
We use the term `work' in everyday conversation to mean many different things. We
talk about going to work, doing homework, working in class. Physicists mean something very
specific when they talk about work.
In Physics we use the term work to describe the process of transferring energy from an
object or system to another or converting energy from one form to another.
You will learn that work and energy are closely related to Newton's laws of motion.
You shall see that the energy of an object is its capacity to do work and doing work in the
process of transferring energy from one object or form to another using a force.
Lifting objects or throwing them requires that you do work on them. Even making an
electrical current flow requires that something does work. Objects or systems must have the
energy to be able to do work on other objects or systems by transferring some of their energy.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. The student should be able to define work, energy, and power and identify its units.
2. The student should be able to distinguish between work and power and calculate the
power for physical situations.
3. The student should be able to define potential energy, identify the standard unit of
potential energy, and identify the variables which affect (and do not affect) the
potential energy of an object.
4. The student should be able to apply the principles of energy conservation to a variety
of physical situations.

Work is defining as a force causing the movement or Work is the product of a

displacement of an object. Work is a scalar product of the force force on an object, and the
acting on an object and the displacement caused by that force. displacement of the object
Though forces and displacement are vector quantities, work has in the direction of the
no directions due to the nature of a scalar product (or dot product) force.
in vector mathematics.

Formula to solve for work:

1. W = F x d cos𝜃 where:
2. W = F x d F = force
d = displacement
𝜃 = angle between the direction of the force and the
displacement
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F
d
𝜃
a a
F

W = F x d cos𝜃 s

W=Fxd

UNITS OF FORCE

SYSTEM WORK FORCE DISPLACEMENT

mks Joule (J) Newton (N) Meter (m)
cgs Edge Dyne Centimeter (cm)
British Feet pounds (ft.lbs) Pounds (lbs) Feet (ft.)

Sample problem no. 1:

A baseball player throws a ball with a force of 10 newtons. The ball travels 20 meters. What is the
total work done?
W=Fxd
= 10N x 20m
= 200 N.m
= 200 joules
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Sample Problem no. 2

A box is pushed without acceleration 5 meters along a horizontal floor against a frictional force of
180 newton. How much work is done?

F work

5m

W=Fxd
= 180N (5m)
= 900 N.m
= 900 joules

Sample problem no 3:
What work is performed in dragging a sled 50 feet horizontally without acceleration when a force of 60
lbs. is transmitted by a rope making an angle of 30 degrees with the ground. The component of the force
in the direction of the displacement is F cos30°.

North F
𝜃

West distance

W = F cos 30° (d)

= 60 lbs. x 0.866 x 50 ft
= 2.6 x 10³ ft.lb

WHAT IS ENERGY?
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Energy is a word that tends to be used a lot in everyday life.

• Energy is the
Energy is a measurement of the ability of something to do work. It is ability to do work.
not a material substance. Energy can be stored and measured in • Energy is the
many forms. Energy is never really destroyed. It is just transferred capacity to do
from one form to another, doing work in the process. work

FORMS OF ENERGY
1. Potential Energy
2. Kinetic Energy

Potential Energy
Potential energy is called the stored energy, this stored energy is based on the position,
arrangement, or state of the object or substance. It is measured in Joules (J).

Two main types of Potential Energy:

a. Gravitational Potential Energy
Is energy an object that is held in a vertical position, due to the force of gravity working
to pull it down?
The amount of gravitational potential energy an object has depends on its height and
mass. The heavier the object and higher it is above the ground; the more gravitational potential
energy it holds.
Gravitational potential energy increases as weight and height increase.
b. Elastic Potential Energy
Is stored energy in objects that can be stretched or compressed, such as trampolines,
rubber bands, and bungee cords.
Formula in Finding the Potential Energy:
PE = w x h where:
PE = m x g x h w = work
PE = F x s m = mass
h = height
g = acceleration of gravity in earth (9.8 m/s²)
F = force
S = displacement
Units of Potential Energy:

Potential Energy WORK MASS DISPLACEMENT

(PE)
Joule Newton (N) Kilogram (kg) Meter (m)
Feet x pounds (ft.lbs) Pounds (lb) Slugs Feet (ft.)
Ergs Dynes Grams (g) Centimeter (cm)

Sample Problem No. 4:

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A 40 lbs. stone is hoisted to the top of a building 100 ft. high. How much does its potential energy
increases?
Given: w = 40 lbs.
h = 100 ft
PE = ?
Solution:
PE = w x h
PE = 40lbs. x 100ft.
PE = 4,000 ft.lbs.
Kinetic Energy
It is called energy in motion. Any object that is moving
NOTE: The change in velocity
has akinetic energy.
will have much greater effect on
Example a baseball that has been thrown. The kinetic the amount of kinetic energy.
energy depends on both mass and velocity and can be expressed
mathematically as follows.

The formula for Kinetic Energy:

KE = ½ mv² where:
M = mass
V = velocity
Sample Problem no. 5:
What is the Kinetic Energy of a 30 kg automobile which is moving at 30 m/sec.?
Given: m = 30kg
V = 30 km/hr
KE =?
Solution:
KE = ½ mv²
KE = ½ (30kg)(30m/s²)
KE = ½ (2,700J)
KE = 13,000 Joules
WHAT IS POWER?
Power is the rate at which work is done or energy is transferred in a unit of time.
Power is increased if work is done faster or energy is transferred in less time.
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Power is a scalar quantity, it has no Reminder!!!

direction.
• When a force does work on an object,
energy is exchanged between the
object and its surroundings
The formula for calculating power:
• The rate at which energy is
exchanged is called power.
P = w/t where: ` P = power (in
• Because work relates to energy
watts)
transfer, the power can be defined in
W = work done (in terms of work done.
joules)
T = the amount of time (in seconds)
Units of Power:

• Power is measured in energy (joules) divided by time. The SI unit of power is the watt (W)
or joule per second (J/s).
• Horsepower is often used to describe the power delivered by a machine. A horsepower is a
unit of power in the British system of measurements. It is the power required to lift 550
pounds by one foot in one second and is about 746 watts.

UNITS EQUIVALENT
1 watt 1 newton. Meter (N.m)
1 joule/second (J/s)
1 horsepower 550 feet. Pounds/s (ft.lbs./s)
1 kilowatt 1,000 watts
1.34 horsepower

Sample Problem no. 6:

Franks does 2400J of work in climbing a set of stairs. If he does the work in 6 seconds. What
is the power out? In horsepower?
Given:
W = 2400 j
T = 6 seconds
P =?
Solution:
P = w/t Convert 400 watts to horsepower (hp)
P = 2400J/6 seconds 400 watts x 1hp ___ = 0.54hp
746 watts
P = 400 j/s
P = 400 watts
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MULTIPLE CHOICES: Encircle the correct letter of your choice from choices given below
each question.
1. What is the SI unit of Work?
A: Joule
B: erg
C: g-cm
D: Watt
2. 1 joule = ________ erg.
A: 109
B: 105
C: 107
D: 1010
3. Which of the followings is an example of work done against force?
A: Getting up with the stairs
B: Get down with the stairs
C: Walking on the flat ground
4. What happens to its potential energy when an object is taken to high altitude?
A: Its potential energy increases
B: Its potential energy decreases
C: Its potential energy remain same
D: None of the above
5. What is the unit of energy in SI system?
A: Joule
B: erg
C: Watt
D: Newton
6. What is the unit of energy in c.g.s system?
A: dyne
B: erg
C: newton-meter/second
D: dyne-cm/second
7. What is energy?
A: energy is the rate of change of work done;
B: It is the ability to do work;
C: Both A and B;
D: none of the above;
8. The rate of change of work is _______ .
A: Power
B: Force
C: Momentum
D: Energy
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9. What is the unit of power?

A: Watt
B: Newton
C: Joule
D: Newton-meter
10. Potential energy = mass × ________ × height.
A: Displacement
B: Velocity
C: Density
D: Gravitational acceleration
11. 1 Horse Power (HP) = _________ Watt.
A: 446
B: 766
C: 746
D: 674
12. If a person walk on horizontal road with a suitcase on his hand then the work
done is zero.
A: This statement is true;
B: This statement is false;
13. What is the formula of work done?
A: Work done = force × displacement;
B: Work done = force × velocity;
C: Work done = pressure × displacement
D: Work done = mass × acceleration;
14. An object of mass 200 g moving with velocity 50 cm/s. What is its kinetic energy?
A: 2.1 × 105 erg
B: 2.0 × 105 erg
C: 2.8 × 105 erg
D: 2.5 × 105 erg
15. Which of the following is true?
A: Power = work done × time;
B: Power = work done/time;
C; Power = work done × velocity;
D: Power = work done/ velocity;
16. A machine do a work of 100 joule in 20 second. What is its power?
A: 120 watt
B: 80 watt
C: 5 watt
D: 2000 watt
17. Which of the following is equal with Newton-meter?
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A: Joule
B: Horse Power
C: Watt
D: Pascal
18. Erg is related to –
A: dyne-cm
B: dyne/secon
C: dyne-second
D: dyne/cm
19. Due to application of 5 N force an object moves 10 meter along perpendicular
direction of the force. What amount work is done?
A: 50 Joule
B: 15 Joule
C: 5 Joule
D: 0 Joule
20. Joule/second is related to –
A: Watt
B: Newton
C: Pascal
B: Torr
21. A particle is thrown upward with some kinetic energy. What happened to its
kinetic energy at the highest point or height it reaches.
A: Its kinetic energy is lost;
B: It’s all kinetic energy is absorbed by the air;
C: Its kinetic energy is converted to potential energy;
D: Its kinetic energy is remain same;
22. What is the formula of potential energy?
A: mv2
B: mgh
C: mgh2
D: ρgh
23. What is the formula of kinetic energy?
A: (1/2)mv2
B: mv2
C: mgh
D: p∫dv
24. When a body falls from a height, its total mechanical energy remain same. The
statement is –
A: True
B: False
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PROBLEM SOLVING EXERCISES:Solve the following problems in a whole sheet of paper.

1. A crate of mass 50kg is pushed along a floor with a force of 20N for a distance of
5m. Calculate the work done.
2. A shopper pushes a shopping cart with a force of 6.9 N at an angle of 59° to the left of
the negative y-axis. While the cart moves a horizontal distance of 7.0m, what is the
work done by the shopper on the shopping cart?
3. A man exerts a force of 2N on a boulder but fails to move it. Calculate the work done.
4. If a mass that weights 8 kg is held at aheight of 10m, what is it’s potential energy?
5. What is the kinetic energy of a 1500kg car going at suburban speed of 14m/s?
6. A 1kg meteorite strikes the moon at 11,000 m/s. how much KE is that?
7. A grinding machine exerts 400J of power in grinding for 10 seconds. Find the exerted
power.
8. What is the power output of a woman doing 300J of work for 40 seconds?
9. Find the power, if the work is 545 J and the time is 22 seconds.
10. Justin Thyme is traveling down Lake Avenue at 32.8 m/s in his 1510-kg 1992
Camaro. He spots a police car with a radar gun and quickly slows down to a legal
speed of 20.1 m/s.
a. Determine the initial kinetic energy of the Camaro.
b. Determine the kinetic energy of the Camaro after slowing down.
c. Determine the amount of work done on the Camaro during the deceleration.
11. During the Powerhouse lab, Jerome runs up the stairs, elevating his 102 kg body a vertical
distance of 2.29 meters in a time of 1.32 seconds at a constant speed.
a. Determine the work done by Jerome in climbing the stair case.
b. Determine the power generated by Jerome.

12. A 78-kg skydiver has a speed of 62 m/s at an altitude of 870 m above the ground.

a. Determine the kinetic energy possessed by the skydiver.

b. Determine the potential energy possessed by the skydiver.

13. Renatta Gass is out with her friends. Misfortune occurs and Renatta and her friends find
themselves getting a workout. They apply a cumulative force of 1080 N to push the car 218 m
to the nearest fuel station. Determine the work done on the car.

REFERENCES

• https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/work-energy-power/work-energy-
tutorial/a/what-is-work
• https://www.techengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_energy_lesson01
• https://www.mathisfun.com/physics/energy-potential-kinetic.html
• https://www.solarschools.net/knowledge-bank/energy/forms/potential
• Resnick, Robert; Halliday; David; and Krane, Kenneth. Physics Vol.1, 5th Edition.
New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2002. (Reprinted in the Philippines by C & E
Publishing)
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• Young, Hugh D., and Freedman, Roger A. Sears and Zemansky's University with
Modern Physics, 11th Edition. San Francisco: Pearson, 2004.