GED Physics Note [Energy]

What is Work?
If you apply force to an object and if it moves in the direction force applied then the work done by
the applied force is the product of the force applied (F) and the amount of displacement (d) in the
direction of force applied and is given by equation
=
By any chance if you apply force and the object does not moves there is no work done. Unit of work
is Joules (J)

What is Energy?
Energy is dened as the ability to do work. Its unit is Joules (J). It is a scalar quantity

What is the difference between work and energy?

Work refers to overcoming resistance by the application of a force. It is evident that the resistance
has been overcome from the movement of application of force. Energy is the capacity to do work or
perform some action and can be considered a something that is stored or possessed. It exists in
several forms like heat, light, potential energy, electrical or other forms. Work and energy have same
units and are closely related. Energy can be stored but work cannot. Work is energy in motion.
Energy changes from one form to another by the process of doing work.

What is Law of conservation of energy?

The law of conservation of energy states that "in a closed system, the total amount of energy always
remains constant, because it can neither be created nor be destroyed. It just changes its form from
one form to another."
For example:
1. In an electrical bulb, electrical energy is converted to heat energy and light energy.
2. In a dynamo mechanical energy is converted to electrical energy.
3. In a clock the potential energy stored on the coiled spring is converted to kinetic energy.
4. In the sun nuclear energy is converted to heat energy and light energy.
5. In a battery chemical energy is converted to electrical energy.
The Basic formula of conservation of energy is simple:
Energy spent in one act = Energy gained in the related act

What is Power?
Power defines the rate at which work is done. Its unit is Watt (W). It is given by

=

Where W is the work done in time t.
Power can be also defined as rate of energy transferred.

=

In this case the unit is same, as work and energy has exactly same unit.

What are the different types of energy?

1. Heat energy
It is the energy released/ taken in the form of heat. It increases the temperature of the object.
1. Light energy
It is the energy that is released in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the form of visual light.
3. Chemical energy
Energy evolved due to a chemical reaction is called as chemical energy.
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4. Electrical energy
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The energy released due to the movement of electrons is called as electrical energy.

Prepared by
Shahadat Hussain Parvez
 GED Physics Note [Energy]

5. Kinetic energy
The energy possessed by a moving object is called Kinetic energy. It is given as
1
= 2
2
Where m is mass of object and v is velocity of object.
6. Potential energy
A potential energy of an object is the energy acquired by it by the virtue of its position and an energy
which is readily available for use. Energy stored on a coiled spring, raised stone are examples of
potential energy. There are different types of potential energy.
Gravitational potential energy, which is the potential energy due to its position above
ground
The Gravitational Potential Energy of object at height 'h' is given as
=
Elastic potential energy, the potential energy due to the expansion or compression of an
elastic object like spring or rubber band.
Electrical Potential Energy, the energy by means of electrical voltage (also called as electric
potential) that is built on an object due to electrostatic induction.
Nuclear potential energy, the sum of potential energy of all the protons and neutrons in a
nucleus due to the nuclear forces between them, excluding the electrostatic potential
energy existing between them is called nuclear potential energy.
Chemical Potential energy, the energy which is recognized when an object releases or
absorbs energy if it undergoes a Chemical reaction.
7. Mechanical energy
Mechanical Energy is the energy of motion that does the work. An example of mechanical energy is
the wind as it turns a windmill, wave energy or sound energy.
Lets see some examples on Energy Conversion:
1. Water producing electricity: Here the potential energy converted in to kinetic energy.
2. Car driving : Here the chemical energy converted into kinetic energy
3. Boiling water using electric kettle: Here electrical energy is converted into heat energy
4. Pushing a rock up towards the hill: Here the kinetic energy converted into potential energy.
5. Ball falling from a great height towards the ground: Here potential energy converted into
kinetic energy.
What are the Sources of energy?
There are mainly two types of sources of energy
1. Non renewable sources, which cannot be renewed or which will end easily.
2. Renewable sources, which does not end easily
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Different types of sources of energy Renewable vs Non renwable sources

Prepared by
Shahadat Hussain Parvez
 GED Physics Note [Energy]

What is Heat?
Heat is stated as the transfer of energy across the boundary of a system because of the difference in
temperature between the system and its surroundings.
What is Temperature?
Temperature is a measure of average speed of the particles in a substance. In general particles
moves slowest in solid, faster in liquid, and fastest in gas. So for same material in solid state
temperature is lower than liquid and gas.
Thermal Energy
Thermal energy gives the total kinetic energy the system possesses. It is used to determine the
internal energy of such system. In a system it increases with increase in temperature. Hence there
would be the greater speed in molecular motion in the system.

There are three main units of Heat:

Calorie It is defined as the amount of heat needed to be transferred to increase the
temperature of 1 gram of water by 1C. It is represented by "Cal."
British thermal unit (BTU) It is defined as the amount of heat needed to be transferred to
increase the temperature of one pound of water through 1F. It is represented by BTU.
Joules Joules is the SI unit of heat. It is equal to the work done when a force of one Newton
is applied for a distance of one meter. It is represented by J."
Heat Transfer
Heat Transfer is defined as the transmission of energy from one region to another region as a result
of the temperature difference between them.
There are three modes of Heat transfer:
1. Conduction
2. Convection
3. Radiation
Conduction: Conduction is a process where the heat transfer takes place between the two solid
bodies in contact, two regions of the same solid body. This will happen because of the hot, vibrating,
and rapidly moving molecules transfer the heat to their neighboring atoms.
Convection: The convection is a type of heat transfer where the heat transfer takes place through a
medium and the medium may be liquid or the gas. The heat transfer takes place by the movement
of fluid from one place to another. The heat transfer here is due to the bulk motion of the fluid.
Radiation: The Third mode of energy transfer is Radiation Heat Transfer. Radiation is the transfer of
heat from hot body to a cold body with any material medium for propagation.
Every object in the universe is made up of atoms and molecules. These atoms and molecules vibrate
due to thermal energy present in them. Every object emits electromagnetic radiations because of
the thermal vibrations of these atoms and molecules. In case of energy transfer, the radiation
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conversion of radiated electromagnetic energy to thermal energy takes place. Radiation Heat
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Transfer can also be termed as transfer of energy through waves.

Prepared by
Shahadat Hussain Parvez
 GED Physics Note [Energy]

Simple Machines
A simple machine is a device that makes the work done easily in the sophisticated and systematic
way. There are six simple machines namely:

1. Pulley: The wheels carrying system that we use in raising a bucket full of water from the
well are nothing but the pulley. In fact we can raise up or move down a load easily from a
larger height using it.
2. Lever: Lever is a simple machine which moves the load towards the pivot using the force
irrespective of where the pivot is located. See-saw, hammer's claws, scissors and pliers are
the common tools used in our daily activities that are nothing but the levers.
3. Wheel and axle: The Wheel with a rod in between at the center acts as an axle. Wheel
without an axle is of no use as axle makes the wheel to turn around it. When the force is
applied the wheels spins and hence load moves. The cart and the bicycle we use are nothing
but the wheel and axle.
4. Inclined plane: The inclined plane is a nothing but a surface that is tilted. Roller coaster,
staircase, skating boards, ladders and sloping sandy grounds gives the illustration for them.
It is used to move the heavy load towards the ground. The ladders used to climb the height
and get down from it are nothing but the inclined planes.
5. Wedge: A wedge is the triangle shaped weapon that separates the portion of an object
when we hit by a hammer on it. It can also be used as a in between piece that stops the
movement between two objects. The fork which we used in our dinner table is a wedge.
Door stopper and knifes are also the examples of wedges.
6. Screw: A screw is nothing but in fact a incline plane where the center has a spiral core. Here
the movement takes place from a lower point to the higher point. It sometimes acts as a tool
that joints the separate parts, as a lid that wraps the stuff, as a tap that interlocks the water
when not in use, as a tool that lifts the heavy load.

Examples of Simple machine:

Pulley: Used to load the water from the height, in elevators etc
Lever: See-saw, hammer's claws, scissors and pliers are its examples
Wheel and axle: Cart and the bicycles
Inclined plane: Roller coaster, staircase, skating boards, ladders
Wedge: Fork, Door stopper and knifes
Screw: Lid, tap etc

Conservation of energy on a falling object

Let us explain the law of conservation of energy for a free falling object from a height 'h'
Stage 1
Let the object be placed at a position of 'h' meters above the ground level.
Potential energy at height 'h' = mgh
Kinetic energy of the object = 1/2 mv2 = 0 ( as the object is in rest V=0)
Total energy of the object = mgh + 0 = mgh
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Prepared by
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 GED Physics Note [Energy]

Stage 2
Let the object travel to a distance of 'x' to reach the position of (h-x)
Potential energy of the object = mg(h-x) (because the new height is h-x)
Kinetic energy of the object = 1/2 mv2
but V2 = U2+2gx and U = 0 (initial velocity)
so V2 = 2gx
Applying this we will get KE= 1/2 x m x 2gx= mgx
Total energy of the object at stage 2 = mg(h-x) + mgx = mgh
Stage 3
Let the object travel the complete distance 'h' to reach the ground.
Potential energy of the object = mgh = 0 ( as height becomes zero)
Kinetic energy of the object = 1/2 mv2
But we know the v2 = u2 + 2gh and u = 0 (initial velocity of the object)
so v2= 2gh and KE = 1/2 x m x 2gh = mgh
Total energy at stage 3 = PE + KE = 0 + mgh = mgh

Difference between heat and temperature

Nuclear Reactions
In a nuclear reaction, energy can be converted to matter and matter can be converted to energy. In
such processes, energy and matter are conserved, according to Einsteins formula = 2 ,where
E is the energy, m is the mass (matter), and c is the speed of light. A nuclear reaction is different
from a chemical reaction because in a nuclear reaction, the particles in nuclei (protons and neutrons)
interact, whereas in a chemical reaction, electrons are lost or gained by an atom. Two types of
nuclear reactions are fusion and ssion.
Fusion is a nuclear process in which two light nuclei combine to form one heavier nucleus. A fusion
reaction releases an amount of energy more than a million times greater than the energy released in
a typical chemical reaction. This gain in energy is accompanied by a loss of mass. The sum of the
masses of the two light nuclei is lower than the mass of the heavier nucleus produced. Nuclear
fusion reactions are responsible for the energy output of the sun.
Fission is a nuclear process in which a heavy nucleus splits into two lighter nuclei. Fission reaction
was used in the rst atomic bomb and is still used in nuclear power plants. Fission, like fusion,
liberates a great amount of energy. The price for this energy is a loss in mass. A heavy nucleus that
splits is heavier than the sum of the masses of the lighter nuclei that result
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Shahadat Hussain Parvez