WORK DONE, ENERGY AND POWER

Work

Work is done whenever a force moves an

object along the direction of the force applied.

Energy and work

When a force causes a body to move, work is

being done on the object by the force. Work is Here is the equation that relates work done,
the measure of energy transfer when a force (F) force applied, and distance moved in the
moves an object through a distance (d). direction of the force:
So when work is done, energy has been
transferred from one energy store to another,
and so:

energy transferred = work done

where:
Energy transferred and work done, both are
W is measured in joules, J
measured in joules (J).

Calculating work done F is measured in newtons, N

The amount of work done when a force acts on d is measured in metres,m

a body depends on two things:
In the example above, 10 N is applied to move
• the size of the force acting on the object the box 2 m.
• the distance through which the force causes Work done = 10 × 2 = 20 J
the body to move in the direction of the force
Everyday examples of work include walking up The triangle above may help you to rearrange
stairs, lifting heavy objects, pulling a sledge and the equation.
pushing a shopping trolley. Whenever work is Work done has the same units as energy –
done, energy is transferred from one place to joules. This is because energy is the ability to
another. do work. So you must have energy to do work.
You do not have to do work if you have energy
though (potential energy does not do work).
Specifically, a person could not push the box
(and so do work) in the example above without
energy. Work done is equal to energy
transferred.
Forces doing NO work Gravitational potential energy (GPE)

1. On Earth we always have the force of gravity

acting on us. When we are above the Earth's
surface we have potential (stored) energy. This
is called gravitational potential energy (GPE).

The amount of GPE an object on Earth has

depends on its:

• mass
If you sit still on a chair, there are TWO forces
• height above the ground
acting -your weight acting downwards on the
chair, and the normal contact force of the chair
on you in the upward direction.

Neither of these forces doing any work.

Reason-they do not move through any
distance‘d’. Your energy does not increase or
decrease due to these forces.

2. The figure below shows another example of

a force that is doing NO work.

In the diagram:

• all the books on a shelf have GPE

• book A has more than book C because it

is higher

• book B has more than book A because it

has a greater mass

Calculating change in gravitational potential

energy
A spacecraft is travelling around the Earth in a
circular orbit. The Earth’s gravity keeps the If an object is lifted, work is done against
spacecraft in the orbit this force is directed gravitational force. The object gains energy. For
towards the centre of the Earth. However, example, Book C would gain GPE if it were
since the spacecraft moves along the circular lifted onto the higher book shelf alongside
orbit, there is NO movement along the Books A and B.
direction of force, and so gravity does NO
work.
Here is the equation for calculating For example, what is the kinetic energy of a
gravitational potential energy: 1000 kg car travelling at 5 m/s?

KE = ½ × 1000 × 25 = 500 × 25 = 12500 J

where: GPE and KE – rides and roller coasters

GPE is the gravitational potential energy in Many theme park rides use the transfer of
joules, J gravitational potential energy (GPE) to kinetic
energy (KE) and kinetic energy to gravitational
m is the mass in kilograms, kg
potential energy.
g is the gravitational field strength in newtons
As the pirate ship falls, GPE is transferred into
per kilogram, N/kg
KE. At the bottom of the swing it's travelling at
h is the change in height in metres, m its highest speed. As it swings back up the
other side it slows down as its KE is transferred
For example, a book with a mass of 0.25 kg is back into GPE.
lifted 2 m onto a book shelf. If g is 10 N/kg,
how much gravitational potential energy does
it gain?

GPE = 0.25 × 10 × 2 = 5 J

Kinetic energy (KE)

All moving objects have kinetic energy (KE). The

KE an object has depends on its:

• mass

• speed

Calculating kinetic energy

Here is the equation for calculating kinetic

energy: KE = ½ mv2

Or KE = ½ × m × v2
where:
KE is the kinetic energy in joules, J

m is the mass in kilograms, kg

v is the speed in metres per second, m/s

Roller coasters use these energy transfers too. Work, GPE and KE

Sliding down a bannister converts GPE into

kinetic energy
Work done and energy are both measured in
joules. This is because work done is equal to
energy transferred. A person who has climbed
to the top of a flight of stairs has transferred
chemical energy stored in their muscles to the
gravitational potential energy (GPE) they have
when standing at the top. Here the work done
(measured in joules) is equal to the GPE
transferred (also measured in joules).

If that person were to slide down the banisters

The rollercoaster car gains GPE as it travels to to the very bottom the GPE would be converted
the top. Once over the top, the car gains speed into kinetic energy.
as GPE is transferred to KE. As it travels to the
Power
top of another loop, KE is transferred to GPE.
Note that not all the energy is transferred to or Power is the amount of energy that is
from GPE – some is transferred to the transferred per second.
surroundings as heat and sound. When work is done on an object, energy is
transferred. The rate at which this energy is
All moving objects have KE. The KE an object transferred is called power. So the more
has depends on its: powerful a device is, the more energy it will
transfer each second.
• mass – if the mass doubles, the KE
doubles Power is a measure of how quickly work is
being done and so how quickly energy is
• speed – if the speed doubles, the KE being transferred.
quadruples (increases four times)

Note: If you ignore air-resistance, Calculating power

GPE on the top = KE at the bottom Here is the equation that relates power, work
done and time:
 car may have a 3 litre engine. In general,
engines with larger capacities are more
where: powerful.

P is power, measured in watts (W) More powerful engines in cars can do work
quicker than less powerful ones. As a result
W is work done, measured in joules (J) they usually travel faster and cover the same
distance in less time but also require more fuel.
t is time, measured in seconds (s) Increased fuel consumption costs more and has
a bigger impact on the environment.
For example, an electric drill transfers 3000 J in
15 s. What is its power?

Power = 3000 ÷ 15 = 200 W

One watt is equal to one joule per second (J/s).
This means that for every extra joule that is
transferred per second, the power increases by
one watt.
Example Two electric motors are used to lift a 2
N weight through a vertical height of 10 m.
Motor one does this in 5 seconds.
Motor two does this in 10 seconds.
For both motors:

For motor one:

For motor two:

Since twice as much energy is transferred by

motor one each second, it is possible to say
that motor one is twice as powerful as motor
two.

Question

A hair dryer transfers 48,000 J of energy in

one minute. What is the power rating of the
hairdryer?
Cars

Car engines come in different sizes (capacities)

and power ratings. For example, a small family
car may have a 1.2 litre engine while a sports