Work Power and Energy Handout
Work Power and Energy Handout
Students Handout
Energy is the name of the game. Everything exists or cease to exist because of its presence or
absence. It is stored in different forms and can transfer and/or transform. It can be transferred
without being transformed. It can also be transformed without being transferred. It can also be
transformed during transfers.
Mechanical Energy – is energy acquired by objects upon which work is done. This form of
energy closely relates to the elementary definition of energy which is the capacity to do work.
➢ The measure of all the different forms of energy is given in the unit joules (J), which
breaks down to Nm or kg m2s2.
➢ Multiplying the force in dynes with the displacement in cm gives the unit dyne cm,
which is called the erg. It also breaks down to g cm2s2.
The word work in physics requires that an object moves as a direct consequence of a force
being applied to it or to apply a force on an object that makes that object move.
Net force accelerates an object, thus making the object move from one place to
another. This change in place is measured as the object’s displacement.
In general, the energy acquired by objects upon which work is done is known as mechanical
energy. You have learned in Grade 8 Science that mechanical energy fall under two
categories: Potential energy and Kinetic Energy.
1
K = mv2
2
b. Potential energy – is the energy of position or configuration. It is commonly
considered as a stored energy having the potential to do mechanical work.
The unit of potential energy whether gravitational or elastic is joule or erg.
1
EPE = kx2
2
k = the force constant or a property of a material that describes
how elastic it is, and is expressed in N/m or dynes/cm.
x = is the amount of stretch or compression.
Problem Solving:
1.
a. Calculate the kinetic energy of a 20-gram dart moving at a speed of 20 cm/s.
b. What should the speed of the dart
be for its kinetic energy to be
twice as that in (a)?
3. At point B, the mass reaches the halfway point on the ramp. But because of the
curvature of the ramp, the height of the mass is only 1.17 m. Also, since the mass
has been moving downward from point A, it has a speed of 7.45 m/s. Find the kinetic
energy and potential energy of the mass at point B.
4. Calculate the potential energy at point C, the bottom of the ramp at which point the
mass is now moving at a speed of 8.85 m/s. Calculate also the kinetic energy of the
mass.
5. An uncompressed spring is 10 cm
long. Its force constant is k = 100 N/m.
A block of mass 1 kg is pushed
against the spring until the spring is
compressed by 0.05 m. Calculate the
EPE of the spring at point A.
This means that, whenever energy shows up in a form that wasn’t there before, we can
be assured that it had always been around but until that moment was in a different form. Thus,
light energy can be converted to mechanical energy.
TME = K + PE
Ex:
In a plugged television, electrical energy is converted into radiant, heat and sound
energies.
During photosynthesis, the sun’s radiant energy is converted into chemical energy.