AMBO IFA BORU SPECIAL BOARDING

SECONDARY SCHOOL

Physics Short Notes

on unit 4
For Grade 9

By: Desta Negash

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4.1 The Concept of Work
In physics, in 1D a force does work if:
- its point of application moves through a distance or
- its component is in the direction of the displacement.
Energy and work are:
 like two faces of the coin.
 cannot separate to each other.
Energy is:
 a mathematical representation of the amount of work the object can
do.
 ability (capacity) to do work.
 is transferred between the two systems when work is done by system
on another.
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4.1.1. Work done by a constant force
If the direction and magnitude of a force applied on a body is constant
then the force is said to be constant.
Work done by a constant force,
W = Force × component of displacement along the force
= displacement × component of force along the displacement.
i.e., W = (𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃)s
= F (s𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃)
Note : The force of gravity (within small altitudes) is an example of work
done by a constant force.
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Nature of Work Done
(i) Positive work
W = 𝐹𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃

If the angle 𝜃 is acute (𝜃 < 90°) then the work is said to be positive.
Positive work signifies that the external force favors the motion of
the body.
Examples
-when a body falls freely under the action of gravity ( 𝜃= 0°),
the work done by gravity is positive.
-when a spring is stretched, stretching force and the displacement
both are in the same direction.
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(ii) Negative work
If the angle 𝜃 is obtuse (𝜃 > 90°), then the work is said to be negative.
It signifies that the direction of force is such that it opposes the motion
of the body.
Examples
- work done by frictional force is negative when it opposes the motion.
- work done by braking force on the car is negative.
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(iii) Zero work
Work done will be zero if (F = 0 or s = 0 or 𝜃 = 90°)
Examples
- body moving with uniform velocity.
- net force on the particle is zero.
- we push the wall and it remains at rest
- electron is moving round the nucleus.
- satellite is moving around the earth.

Notes
- SI unit of work is the newton. meter (N m) which is called joule (J)
- Work is scalar quantity.
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Plot of force against distance
The area under a force vs. distance moved graph is equal to the work
done.
Examples
1. If you push a box 20 m forward by
applying a force of 15 N in the
forward direction, what is the
work you have done on the box?
2. What is the work done by you on
a car, if you try to push the car up a hill by applying a force of 40 N
directed up the slope, but it slides downhill 30 cm?
3. Calculate the work done on a box, if it is pulled 5 m along the ground
by applying a force of F=10 N at an angle of 600 to the horizontal.
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Doing work against gravity
Whenever you lift up an object you are doing work against the force of gravity.

Example
Determine the work done in lifting a 60 kg mass vertically 3 m.
Work done against kinetic friction
whenever you push or pull an object along the ground you are doing work against a force of
kinetic friction.

Kinetic friction always acts in the opposite direction to motion’ that is the kinetic friction and the
displacement makes 1800 .
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The negative sign indicates, its effect
is always to decrease the energy of the
body on which it is doing work.
 The work done against friction is the negative of
the work done by friction and is expressible as

Example:
Determine the work done in pushing a 100 kg wooden block 30 m across a horizontal
concrete floor with 𝜇𝑘 = 0.48
Work done against Gravity and friction
If you were to push or pull on an object up a ramp then you end up doing work against both
friction and gravity. In this case the total work done could be found using the following
equation:
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Examples
1. A block of mass 4kg is pushed along an inclined plane that makes 450 from the horizontal.
If the coefficient of friction between the plane and the block is 0.2, find the total work done on
the in pushing it 4m along the plane.
2. A 10 N frictional force slows a moving block to a stop after a displacement of 5 m to the
right. The block has a weight of 20 N. Determine the work done by the following forces: normal
force, weight, frictional force.
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The relation 𝑾 = 𝑭∆𝒙𝒄𝒐𝒔𝜽 to calculate the work done applies only when F is constant in
magnitude and direction. However, for a force that varies uniformly with the displacement, the
work done can readily be calculated by:

Example:
A force acting a body varies uniformly from 20N to 40N in displacing the body by 5m along the
direction of the displacement. Calculate the work done by the force.
Work done by a spring force
Consider a block on a horizontal, frictionless surface
is connected to a spring. By Hooke's law:
The work done by the spring 𝑊𝑠 from 𝑥𝑖 to 𝑥𝑓 , is
given as:
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𝐹𝑖 +𝐹𝑓
𝑊𝑆 = 𝐹𝑎𝑣 ∆x = ( )∆𝑥, but 𝐹𝑖 = −K𝑥𝑖 , 𝐹𝑓 = −K𝑥𝑓 , ∆𝑥 = 𝑥𝑓 − 𝑥𝑖
2

This work done by the spring force 𝑊𝑠 can have a positive or negative or zero value, depending on
whether the net transfer of energy is to or from the block as the block moves from 𝑥𝑖 to 𝑥𝑓 .

The work done on the spring by an external agent that stretches the spring very slowly and
steadily (from rest) from 𝑥𝑖 to 𝑥𝑓 .
The applied force increases uniformly up to the elastic limit of the spring.
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Examples
A spring has force constant 100N/m. How much work is done by a boy that compress the
spring by 20cm from its equilibrium position?
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4.2 Kinetic energy and work-energy theorem
Kinetic energy (KE)
- is energy associated with the state of motion of an object.
 The faster the object moves, the greater is its kinetic energy.
 When the object is stationary, its kinetic energy is zero.
For an object of mass m whose speed v is well below the speed of light

Example.
An1800kg car travelling at a steady speed is acquired a kinetic energy of 3240kJ. What was the
speed of the car?
Work and kinetic energy
The total work is also related to changes in the speed of the body.
Consider a particle with mass moving along the x-axis under the action of a constant net force
with magnitude directed along the positive x-axis. Suppose the speed changes from 𝑣1 to 𝑣2
while the
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particle undergoes a displacement ∆𝑥 = 𝑥2 − 𝑥1 from point 𝑥1 to 𝑥2 .

By Newton’s second law as

Since the force is constant, the acceleration will also remain constant & is given by:
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Then work-energy theorem can then be stated as the work done by a net force on
an object is equal to the change in its kinetic energy.
Notes
 If the speed of an object:
- increases, the net work done on it is positive.
- decreases, the net work done on it is negative.
- constant, no work is done.
Example
A car of mass 2000kg is changing its speed uniformly from 10m/s to 30m/s through a distance of
800m.
a) What is the net work done by the car?
b) What was the average net force acting on the car?
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4.3. Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy
Potential energy (U)
- associated with the position or configuration (arrangement) of object.
- of a system of interacting objects represents the ability of the system to do work because of
its position or configuration.
- its forms, includes gravitational, elastic, electromagnetic, chemical, and nuclear.
i) Gravitational potential energy(GPE)
-is the energy associated with the state of separation between
two objects that attract each other by the gravitational force.
Consider a physics book of mass lifted from an initial height 𝑦𝑖 to a final height 𝑦𝑓 above the
surface of the earth.
The work done by gravitational force as the book is raised to 𝑦𝑓 .
𝑊𝑔 = 𝐹𝑔 ∆𝑟 cosθ
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since 𝐹𝑔 & ∆𝑟 are opposite in direction (𝜃 = 1800 )
𝑊𝑔 = 𝐹𝑔 ∆𝑟 cosθ
𝑊𝑔 = 𝑚𝑔 𝑦𝑓 − 𝑦𝑖 cos1800
𝑊𝑔 = −𝑚𝑔 𝑦𝑓 − 𝑦𝑖
𝑊𝑔 = −(𝑚𝑔𝑦𝑓 − mg𝑦𝑖 )
𝑊𝑔 = −(𝐺𝑃𝐸𝑓 − 𝐺𝑃𝐸𝑖 )
𝑊𝑔 = −∆𝐺𝑃𝐸
The work done by gravitational force is equal to the negative of the change in GPE.
When the object moves down y decreases:
 the gravitational force does positive work, and
 the potential energy decreases.
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When the object moves up:
 the work done by the gravitational force is negative and
 the potential energy increases.
Examples
1. A 2kg book is placed on a shelf 2.5m height above the ground. What is the GPE of the book?
2. A 1kg apple is falling down freely through a distance of 1.5m from the top of the tree.
a) What is loss in GPE of the apple?
b) Where does it go the loss in GPE?
ii) Elastic potential energy (EPE)
- energy that is stored in an elastic object when you stretch, compress, twist, or otherwise
deform
The spring may have the potential for doing work because of its stretch (or compression).
Consider an object of mass attached to a spring of spring constant K:
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The work done by
spring force when the
spring is stretched from
𝑥𝑖 to 𝑥𝑓 is the product of
the average spring force
and the displacement.
That is;
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Example
1.Calculate the energy stored in a spring when it is stretched 8cm by a 100N force?
2. A spring with a spring constant of 1500N/m is compressed by 5cm. How much EPE will be
stored in the spring?
Conservation of Mechanical Energy
If a system is isolated from the environment, the sum of the kinetic and potential energies (
Mechanical Energy) remains constant.

From work-energy theorem we have:

∆𝐾 = −∆𝑈
𝐾𝑓 − 𝐾𝑖 = 𝑈𝑖 − 𝑈𝑓
1 1
m𝑣 + 𝑚𝑔𝑦𝑓 = 𝑚𝑢2 + mg𝑦𝑖
2
2 2
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Examples
1.A bird of 5000g is flying at a speed of 20m/s at an altitude of 600m
above the ground. Determine the mechanical energy of this bird?
2. During a flood a tree truck of mass 100 kg falls down a waterfall.
The waterfall is 5m high. If air resistance is ignored, calculate
a. the potential energy of the tree trunk at the top of the waterfall.
b. the kinetic energy of the tree trunk at the bottom of the
waterfall.
c. the magnitude of the velocity of the tree trunk at the bottom of
the waterfall.
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Conservative & Non-conservative forces
Conservative forces
- if the work done by the force is independent of the path and
depends only on initial and final positions.
- It does not depend on the nature of the path followed between the
initial and the final positions.
Examples
Gravitational, Electrostatic, Elastic force, Restoring force due to
spring, Intermolecular force etc.

Non Conservative Force

- if work done by the force in moving a body depends upon the path
between the initial and final positions.
Examples
Frictional forces, air resistance, viscous force, etc
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Difference Between Conservative forces & Non-conservative Forces
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Energy in oscillating systems
When an object thrown vertically up into the air the kinetic energy is
transformed into GPE as it rises and when it falls its GPE is converted
into kinetic energy.
In oscillating systems kinetic energy is continuously being
transformed into potential energy and vice-versa.
If there are no energy losses, then the total mechanical energy will
remain constant forever.
Consider the following examples
A) The oscillation of Simple pendulum
- in the absence of friction, the mechanical energy is conserved when
the bob swings between A and B.
-points A & B are called amplitude position.
-Point C refers to the equilibrium position of the bob.
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The mechanical energy at any

position is conserved (the same).
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The total mechanical energy = kinetic energy + potential energy

ii) A horizontal mass–spring system.

In this case the potential energy may not be GPE, instead it may
be EPE.
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As the spring is compressed the EPE increases and the mass slows
down (its Ek decreases). Eventually the mass will stop; at this point
the EPE is at its maximum and the Ek is zero. The mass then
accelerates as EPE is converted into Ek. This process continues.
iii) Vertically oscillating a mass–spring system
In this case the kinetic energy is changed into
GPE and EPE. In any case the total mechanical
energy of the system remains the same.

Energy resources
- is a source of energy that used by a country or
individuals within that country.
Examples of energy resources are Oil, Fuel, Nuclear, Natural gas,
Solar, Geothermal …etc
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The following are factors to be considered in selecting which energy
resources to use:
1. being the availability of the resource.
2. the economics involved and
3. the subsequent environmental impact.
Q. What is energy converter?
- device used to convert the naturally existing energy resources
into useful forms of energy.
Examples
-wind mill.
-Hydroelectric power generator.
-solar power …etc
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 Energy resources are often used to generate electricity.

 Most methods of electricity generation involves
- a rotating turbine →turns a generator to converts kinetic
energy into electrical energy.
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- burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.
𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑡
chemical energy in fuels released as heat used to
𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚
turn water into steam , turns a turbine to generate
electricity.
 Large fossil fuel power stations can generate up to 4 billion joules
per second!
Fossil fuels is problematic for two main reasons. These are:
 they are a finite energy resources.
 produces several atmospheric pollutants. 𝑠𝑜2 , 𝑐𝑜2
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Renewable and non-renewable energy resources
Renewable energy resources
- are the sources which give energy that cant be replaced.
Examples: geothermal, wind, hydro electric & solar
Non-renewable energy resources
-are the sources that give energy that cannot be replaced are known
as non-renewable energy sources.
Once they burned, the energy is used up forever (we cannot
replace).
Examples
 Fossil fuels such as Coal, gas and oil.
 Nuclear energy.
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Mechanical Power
- is the time rate of Work done.
- is the rate at which energy is crossing the boundary of the system
by a given transfer mechanism.
If an external force is applied to an object and if the work done by
this force in the time interval ∆t is W, then the average power
during this interval is defined as :

 Power in terms of Force and Velocity, during time interval ∆t the

average power can be defined as:
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For steady velocity, 𝑣𝑎𝑣 = v and constant force F, then we can

express the power in terms of force and velocity as:
𝑃 = 𝐹 . 𝑣 = F𝑣cosθ
Where θ is the angle between F and v vector.
When a body accelerates uniformly from 𝑣𝑖 to 𝑣𝑓 , the average
velocity can be taken as for a constant force the average power is:
(𝑉𝑖 + 𝑉𝑓 )
𝑃𝑎𝑣 = F𝑉𝑎𝑣 = F
2
The SI unit of power is called the watt (W)
1W = 1 J/s
Another unit of power is the horsepower (hp)
1 hp = 746 W
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Kilowatt-hour
- is a unit of energy, not power.
The amount of energy represented by 1 kWh is:

Note
kilowatt-hour - is used When we:
 pay your electric bill,
we are buying energy and
to transfer amount of energy by electrical
transmission into a home.
Examples
1) How much work is done by a 500 W motor running for 30 minutes?
2) Calculate the power required for a force of 10 N applied to move a
10 kg box at a speed of 1 m/s over a frictionless surface.
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