Topic 2.

Some of the kinetic energy of the ball has been

transformed into the potential energy of the
pins that have been knocked into the air.

Work, Energy & Power

 contents
 Kinetic Energy

 Gravitational Potential Energy

 Elastic Potential Energy

 Work Done as Energy Transfer

 Power as Rate of Energy Transfer

 Principle of Conservation of Energy

 Efficiency
 Work
Work is defined as the force multiplied by displacement in
the direction of the force.

 has a SI unit of Joule (J)

You are doing work when You are not doing work if you
you lift up a bench from are just standing still with a
the ground or carry it bench in your hands.
walking.
 Work
 One joule of work is done 1 J of work
when a force of one newton
moves through a distance of
one metre in the direction
1m
of the force

distance moved in the

work = force x
direction of the force

F
 Work
s

θ
Fcosθ

W  Fs cos 
 Work
Energy and work are both measured in joules. When work
is done, energy is also used up.
The amount of work done is simply the energy that is
transferred or used.

Question:
Consider a waiter carries a tray full
of meals above his head by one arm
across the room, does he do any
work upon the tray?
 Work Done by a Varying Force
For a force that varies, the work can be approximated
by dividing the distance up into small pieces, finding
the work done during each, and adding them up. As the
pieces become very narrow, the work done is equal to
the area under the force vs. distance curve.
 Forms of energy

Energy
▪ The capacity to do work
▪ SI Unit: Joule (J)

▪ Scalar Quantity

▪ Energy can be converted from one form to

another OR

Transferred from one body to another through

work done or heat exchange
 Forms of energy
Mechanical Energy
▪ Kinetic Energy
- is the energy by virtue of its motion
▪ Potential Energy (PE)
- possessed by objects due to its
(a) Position
Raised object has Gravitational PE
(b) Condition
Stretched elastic band has Elastic PE
Mechanical Energy
Kinetic Energy

1 2
Ek  mv Ek : Kinetic Energy (J)
2 m: mass of body (kg)
v: velocity of body (ms-1)
Question:
A 750 kg compact car moving at 100 km h-1 has
approximately 290 000 Joules of kinetic energy. What is
the kinetic energy of the same car if it is moving at 50 km
h-1? 72 500 J
Mechanical Energy
Another form of the Kinetic Energy Formula

2 Ek : Kinetic Energy (J)

p
EK  p :
m:
Momentum (kg m s-1)
mass of body (kg)
2m

Can you derive this equation from the previous one?

Mechanical Energy
Potential Energy (PE)

Potential energy is the energy stored in a body as a

consequence of its a body possessed by
▪ position, shape or state

Gravitational
PE Elastic PE
Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE)

PE  mgh
E p  mgh
h
∆Ep : Change in Potential
Energy (J)
m: mass of body (kg)
g: acceleration due to
gravity (9.81 m s-2)
∆h : height of body from
reference level (m)
Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE)
▪ For a body near the surface of Earth at a
height h, GPE is defined as
- amount of work done in order to raise
the body to the height h from a
reference level
Question:
What are the GPE for the following positions shown below?
Energy conversion and conservation
Principle of Conservation of Energy

The Principle of Conservation of Energy states that

energy cannot be created or destroyed but may be
converted from one form to another but the total amount
remains constant

System
Energy Energy

In Out
 Energy conversion and conservation
Principle of Conservation of Energy
Ignoring effects of friction and air resistance

A C

PEA = PEmax B PEC = PEmax

= mgh = mgh
KEA = 0 J h KEC = 0 J
VA = 0 ms-1 VC = 0 ms-1
PEB = O
KEB = KEmax = PEA
½mvmax2 = mgh
Energy conversion and conservation
Principle of Conservation of Energy
(Energy Transformation for a pendulum)
Ignoring effects of friction and air resistance
Energy Conversion and Conservation
Principle of Conservation of Energy
(Energy Transformation on an incline)
Ignoring effects of friction and air resistance
Energy Conversion and Conservation
Principle of Conservation of Energy
(Energy Transformation of a Dart)
Ignoring effects of friction and air resistance
Energy Conversion and Conservation
Principle of Conservation of Energy
(Energy Transformation of a Dart)
Ignoring effects of friction and air resistance
Energy Conversion and Conservation
Principle of Conservation of Energy
(Energy Transformation on an incline)
Ignoring effects of friction and air resistance
Energy Conversion and Conservation
Principle of Conservation of Energy
(Energy Transformation of a downhill skiing)
Ignoring effects of friction and air resistance
Energy Conversion and Conservation
Principle of Conservation of Energy
(Energy Transformation of a downhill skiing)
Ignoring effects of friction and air resistance
Energy Conversion and Conservation
Conversion of energy
Energy Conversion and Conservation
Conversion of energy
Example: Conservation of Energy
Jane, looking for Tarzan, is running at top speed (5.3m s-1) and grabs a vine hanging
vertically from a tall tree in the jungle. How high can she swing upward? Does the
length of the vine affect your answer? (Giancolio, Chap 6, 33)

The only forces acting on Jane are gravity and the vine tension. The tension pulls
in a centripetal direction, and so can do no work – the tension force is
perpendicular at all times to her motion. So Jane’s mechanical energy is
conserved. Subscript 1 represents Jane at the point where she grabs the vine, and
subscript 2 represents Jane at the highest point of her swing. The ground is the
zero location for PE  y  0  . We have v1  5.3m s , y1  0 , and v2  0 (top of swing).
Solve for y2, the height of her swing.
1
2
mv12  mgy1  12 mv22  mgy2  1
2
mv12  0  0  mgy2 

 5.3 m s 
2
v12 v2 , y2
y2    1.4 m
2g 
2 9.8 m s 2
 v1 , y1
No, the length of the vine does not enter into the calculation, unless the vine is less
than 0.7 m long. If that were the case, she could not rise 1.4 m high. Instead she
would wrap the vine around the tree branch.
 Efficiency
Efficiency of a system is defined as the ratio of
the useful energy output to the energy input

Efficiency = Useful energy output X 100%

Total energy input

Question to ponder:
What if the efficiency of a system is NOT 100%,
does it mean that the Principal of Conservation of
Energy has failed?
 Power
Power is defined as the rate of doing work.
 has a SI unit of watt (W)
 one watt is one joule per second (1 W = 1 J s-1)

work done or energy change

power =
time taken

power  Fv Can you derive this?

Question:
If little Nellie Newton lifts her 40-
kg body a distance of 0.25 m in 2 s,
then what is the power delivered by
little Nellie's biceps?