Work, Power and Energy!

Mathematical Expression and

Work Calculations
Lisa is a hardworking college student who
studies quantum physics. She was assigned to
come up with a paper on the application of how
observation affects reality at the subatomic
level. She worked very hard on her research, so
hard, in fact, that she forgot to write a paper
about it. She was very tired but has many data
and in information.
 Objectives:
• Explain what work is;
• Relate work with force; and
• Identify situations in which work is
done and work is not done
Work is another concept that has a special
meaning in science that is different from
your everyday concept. In everyday use,
work is associated with a task to be
accomplished or the time to be spent in
performing the task. However, the
amount of work you do has nothing to do
with how tired you feel in performing a
certain task. A force does the work when
the force causes an object to move. If the
object does not move, no work is done.
There are two
considerations to remember
about work:

1.Something must move

whenever work is done; and

2. The movement must be in

the same direction as the
direction of the force.
 Energy and Work
• Energy is the ability to do work.

• Work is the energy transferred to

or from a system by a force that
acts on it.
 Work

• In physics, work
has a very specific
meaning.
• In physics, work
represents a
measurable change
in a system,
caused by a force.
Work Concept

• Work is defined as a force acting upon an

object to cause a displacement
• Mathematically, work can be expressed by
the following equation.
• W= F x d cos q ( cos 00 = 1)
• where F = force, d = displacement, and the
angle (theta) is defined as the angle between
the force and the displacement vector
Work (force is parallel to distance)

Force (N)

Work (joules) W=Fxd

Distance (m)
Work (force at angle to distance)

Force (N)

Work (joules) W = Fd cos (q) Angle

Distance (m)
Work Calculations

W=F x d W=F x d cos 300 W= F x d

=100N X 5m = 100N X 5m X .87 =15Kg(9.8 m/s2) X
5m
Calculating with Work –Problem #1

• If you lift a 3 N book 2 meters off the floor,

how much work did you do?
• W=Fxd
• W = 3N x 2m
• W=6J
Calculating with Work –Problem #2

• A man pushes a couch a distance of 0.75 m.

If 113 J of work is done, what is the
magnitude of the force applied??
• F=W÷d
• F = 113 J / 0.75 m
• F = 151 N
Calculating with Work –Problem #3

• It requires 3480 J to move a 675 N object

how far?
• d=W÷F
• d = 3480 J / 675 N
• d = 5.16 m
Calculating with Work –Problem #5

• A toy truck is pushed across a table 0.80 m

north and pulled back 0.80 m south. If a
constant horizontal force of 15 N was
applied in both directions, what is the net
work?
• Displacement = 0 (same distance N and S)
• No motion = no work done
ENERGY!
Mechanical

• Mechanical energy is the energy which

is possessed by an object due to its motion
or its stored energy of position
• Kinetic energy : is the energy of motion
• Potential Energy : an object can store energy
as the result of its position or elastic source
The Law of Conservation of Energy
-States that: ENERGY CAN’T BE CREATED OR DESTROYED!!
-So does this mean the total amount of energy in the Universe is the same
at all times???

Friction and Air Resistance

These forces can cause some mechanical energy to change into

THERMAL ENERGY!!
 More about Energy
Different Forms of Energy
1. Electrical
2. Chemical
3. Radiant
4. Thermal
5. Mechanical
What is energy?
Energy is the measure of the ability of an object or a
system to perform work. There are many types of energy:

 kinetic energy – energy of MOTION

 gravitational potential energy – energy of an object due

to position in a gravitational field

 elastic energy – energy stored when an object is

stretched or compressed

 chemical energy – energy stored in chemical bonds

 nuclear energy – energy stored in nuclei.

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Units of Energy
• Force is a mass times an acceleration
– mass has units of kilograms
– acceleration is m/s2
– force is then kg·m/s2, which we call Newtons (N)
• Work is a force times a distance
– units are then (kg·m/s2)·m = kg ·m2/s2 = N·m =
Joules (J)
– One joule is one Newton of force acting through
one meter
– Imperial units of force and distance are pounds
and feet, so unit of energy is foot-pound, which
equals 1.36 J
• Energy has the same units as work: Joules
Spring 2005
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 Gravitational Potential Energy

• After an object has been lifted to a

height, work is done.
• PE = W= F x d= mgh
Potential Energy is
maximum at the
maximum HEIGHT
Potential Energy Calculation

• How much potential energy is lost by a

5Kg object to kinetic energy due a
decrease in height of 4.5 m
• PE = mgh
• PE = (5Kg)(10 m/s2)(4.5 m)
• PE = 225 Kg m2/s2
• PE = 225 J
Examples of Gravitational Potential
Energy
• How much gravitational potential energy
does a 70 kg high-diver have on the 10
meter platform?
mgh = (70 kg)(9. 8 m/s2)(10 m)
= 6, 860 kg·m2/s2
= 6860 J

Spring 2005 UCSD: Physics 8; 2005 24

Kinetic Energy Calculation

• The energy of motion

 DKE = W= F x d= mgh=1/2 mv2
• Find the kinetic energy of an 4 Kg object
moving at 5m/s.
• KE = 1/2 mv2
• KE = ½ (4Kg)(5m/s) 2
• KE = 50 Kg m 2 /s 2
• KE = 50 J
 Question

• When you carry a heavy bag of groceries from

your car to your kitchen, what does work, your
arms or your legs? Explain why.
• Your legs, because they move you and the
groceries from the car to the kitchen. Your arms
only lift and hold the groceries.
 UCSD: Physics 8; 2005

Numerical examples of kinetic

energy
• A baseball (mass is 0.145 kg = 145 g) moving at
30 m/s (67 mph) has kinetic energy:
K.E. = ½(0.145 kg)(30 m/s)2
= 65.25 kg·m2/s2  65 J
• A quarter (mass = 0.00567 kg = 5.67 g) flipped
about four feet into the air has a speed on reaching
your hand of about 5 m/s. The kinetic energy is:
K.E. = ½(0.00567 kg)(5 m/s)2
= 0.07 kg·m2/s2 = 0.07 J

Spring 2005 27
Energy Is Also Measured In
Joules
• Since energy is required to do work, it is
measured using the same unit (joules)
• The amount of energy required to do work
is ALWAYS greater than or equal to the
amount of work being done
• EX. If you do 6J worth of work to lift a
book, you need at least 6J of energy to do it
Doing Work Gives Energy to Objects
• When work is done on an object:
• Energy is transferred from the object doing the
work to the object having work done on it
• The object doing the work loses energy
• The object having work done on it gains energy
• EX. A student pushing a desk across the floor
is doing work on the desk – energy is
transferred from the student to the desk and the
student loses energy
Why do we get tired after doing work?
• We give up our energy to all the objects we touch
and move around
• In any energy transfer in our body, some energy is
changed to heat and transferred to our
environment – the energy is LOST from our body
• Staying alive requires a lot of energy
• Heart beating, brain sending messages, cells moving
substances in and out, muscle contractions, etc.
• As our body’s energy gets low, we get tired
POWER!
What is power?
Power is the rate at which work is done, or the rate at which
energy is transferred.

power = work done / time taken

P = W/t

Where:

 power is measured in watts (W)

 work done or energy transferred is measured in joules (J)
 time is measured in seconds (s).

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Power!

• Power = Work or Energy / Time

• The units for power :
• J/s
• Kg m2 / s2 /s
• Nm/s
Power
• Power is simply energy exchanged
per unit time, or how fast you get
work done (Watts = Joules/sec)
• One horsepower = 745 W
• Perform 100 J of work in 1 s, and
call it 100 W

Spring 2008 34
Power: example question 1
A crane lifts a load of
1500 kg a height of 25 m
at a steady rate, in a
time of 2 min. What is
the power of the crane?

P=W/t W = energy transferred = ΔEp

= 367 875 / 120 ΔEp = mgΔh
= 3066 W = 1500 × 9.81 × 25
= 367 875 J
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Motive power
The power outputted by a powered object, such as an engine
or muscles, is sometimes called the motive power.

If the powered object is moving at a constant speed at a

constant height:

power = force × speed

P = Fv

At constant speed and height, the force produced by the

powered object is equal but opposite to all resistive forces
acting on the object, such as friction and air resistance.

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Power: example question 2
What is the resistive force on a cyclist who has leg muscles of
power 200 W each and who reaches a top speed of 10 ms-1 on
a level road?

P = Fv
F=p/v
= (200 × 2) / 10
= 40 N

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Power: efficiency
Efficiency is the ratio of useful work done by a device, to
the total work done (or the ratio of useful output energy to
the total energy input).

efficiency = useful work done / total work done

efficiency = useful energy output / total energy input

Efficiency is often expressed as a percentage.

Efficiency is always less than 100%, as no device is perfect
and some energy is always lost.
For example, what is the efficiency of a 60 W filament
lamp that gives out 1 W of light?
efficiency = 1 / 60 = 0.017 = 1.7%
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Power: calculations

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Power Calculation

• A 5 Kg Cart is pushed by a 30 N force

against friction for a distance of 10m in 5
seconds. Determine the Power needed to
move the cart.
• P=Fxd/t
• P = 30 N (10 m) / 5 s
• P = 60 N m /s
• P = 60 watts
Summary

• Energy is the ability to move

• Potential is stored energy (Statics)
• Dependant on height
• Kinetic is moving energy (Dynamics)
• Dependant on velocity
• Springs store energy dependant on distance
and constant
• Power is how fast the work is done
Glossary

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What’s the keyword?

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Work, energy and power
equations