Chapter 5 Work, Energy and Power

Work
• Work is defined as the product of force and distance moved in the direction of the force.
Work done = force x distance W = FS

• Work has the unit of energy, Joule(J)

(or Nm)
• Work is a scalar quantity
• 1 joule is the amount of work done when a 1 Newton force moves something 1 meter
in the direction of the force.
A) Work done when applied force and motion are in the same direction
Example
1. If a force of 50N is used to pull a box along the ground a distance of 8m and the box
moves in the same direction as the force calculate the work done by the force
• Solution

Example
2. An automobile is pushed with a horizontal force of 60N at a velocity of 3m/s on a
level road. How much work is done in 2 seconds?
Solution

3. A car of mass 600kg traveling at 20m/s is brought to a rest in 2 seconds. If the engine
of a car produces a force of 400N. Calculate the work done by the engine?
Solution

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 B) Work done by force acting at an angle to the direction of motion
When there is an angle between the applied force and the direction of motion the
following equation is used.
W = FS
cosθ

Example
A force of 50 N acts on the block at the angle shown in the diagram. The block moves a
horizontal distance of 3.0 m. Calculate the work being done by the force?

solution

C) Work done against or by the gravity

If a body falls from the top of a tower, work is done by the force of the gravity (weight).
Also for an object of mass “m” lifted vertically to a height “h” with a uniform velocity the
minimum upward force used equals to its weight.
Applied force = gravitational force = weight of the object. Therefore
W = FS where F = weight = mg
And s = vertical height (h) Therefore W = mgh
Example
A stone of mass 0.5kg rolls 50m down a slope of height 30m as shown in the figure. What is the
work done by the force of the gravity? (g = 10m/s2).
Solution

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 Work done and Energy transferred
Doing work is a way of transferring energy.
• Work done = energy transferred = FS
Energy
Kinetic energy and potential energy
Kinetic energy is defined as the energy of a moving body.
Kinetic energy can be found by:
KE = ½ mv2
KE = kinetic energy, m = mass and V = velocity.
Example
What is the kinetic energy of 1200kg car moving with constant velocity of 20m/s?
Solution

Example
A satellite with a mass of 1000kg orbits the earth. If the kinetic energy of the satellite is 9.8
x109J. Calculate the speed of the satellite?
Solution

Gravitational Potential energy

• Potential energy of an object can be defined as the energy of an object possesses due to
its rest position above the ground.
It can be found by:
• GPE = mgh
m = mass,
g = acceleration due to gravity

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h = height
Example
A weight lifter raises weight with a mass of 200kg form the ground to a height of 1.5m as figure
below shows:
a) how much work does he do?
b) By how much does the GPE of the weight s
increase
Solution

Example
Calculate the GPE of this person?
Solution

Gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy Transformation

The law of conservation of energy states: “Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it may
only be transferred from one form to another but the total amount of energy never
changes.”
Decrease in GPE = increase in KE

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Example
A cyclist of mass 60kg is moving from the top of Small Mountain of 10m high to the foot of the
mountain as shown in the figure below.
(take g = 10m/s2)

Calculate:
a) The potential energy of the cyclist at top of the mountain?
b) The kinetic energy of the cyclist at the foot of the mountain?
c)The speed of the cyclist at the foot of the mountain?
Solution
Example
A boulder of mass 4kg rolls over a cliff and reaches the beach below with a velocity of 20m/s.
(take g = 10m/s2)
a) What is kinetic energy of the boulder just before it lands?
b) What is its potential energy on the cliff?
c) How high is the cliff?
Solution

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 Power
Power is defined as the rate of doing work or the rate of energy transfer.
• Power (P) = work done (W)/time taken (t)
• P = W/t
• Power is a scalar quantity. The SI unit of power is watt (W). 1W = 1 J/s
• P = W/t = FS/t
We know that S/t = V therefore
• P = FV
Example
Muna weighs 500N runs a flight of stairs in 5s.

What is the rate of doing work against gravity if the total height of the stairs is 4m?
Solution

A motor of a lifter provides a force of 20kN (20,000N). How high the motor moves in 10
seconds if the power of the motor is 40kW (40,000W)?
Solution

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Exercise
1. A cart load of sand is pulled 12 m across the ground as shown figure 1.5.5 below. The
tension in the rope is 500 N and is directed 30 degrees above the horizontal. How much
work is done in pulling the load?

2. A stone of weight 20 N falls from the top of a 25 m high cliff a) How much work is done
by the force of gravity b) How much energy is transferred to the stone
3. Calculate the kinetic energy of car of mass 50 kg that has a velocity of 30 m/s?
4. What is the velocity of an object of mass 2.5 kg that has 850 J of kinetic energy?
5. A 20 kg object is raised 60 m to the platform shown. (take g = 10m/s2)

Calculate the gravitational potential energy of the object at the top of the plat form?
b) If the object slides down the inclination of the platform, calculate the kinetic energy of
the object at the bottom?
6. A block of mass 2 kg is dropped from a height of 25 m given that acceleration due to gravity is
10m/s2. Calculate
a) Potential energy at this height?
b) The kinetic energy as it hits the ground?
c) The speed of the object when it hits the ground?
d) Work done by the object as it falls from the ground?
7. A 200g steel ball falls from a height of 1.8m onto a metal plate and rebounds to a height of 1.5
m. find a) The PE of the ball before the fall (g = 10m/s2)?
b) Its KE as it hits the plate?

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c) Its velocity on hitting the plate?
8. Calculate how much work is done by a 50kW car engine in a time of 1.0minute?
9. A 250.-kilogram car is initially at rest at point A on a roller coaster track. The car carries a 75-
kilogram passenger and is 20. meters above the ground at point A. [Neglect friction.]

a) Calculate the total gravitational potential energy, relative to the ground, of the car and the
passenger at point A.
b) Calculate the speed of the car and passenger at point B
10. A climber of mass 60 kg is attached by a rope to point A on a rock face. She climbs up to
point B in 20 seconds. Point B is 3.2 m vertically above point A.

(a)(i) Calculate the average speed of the climber between A and B.

(ii) Calculate the weight of the climber.
(iii) Calculate her gain in potential energy.

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(b) She then loses her footing and free falls from point B. After passing point A she is held safely
by the rope. Calculate her speed as she passes point A