WORK
WORK OR NO WORK?
WORK
• Work is done only when a force is applied to a
body and moves it.
• It is a product of the force and the
displacement resulting from the application of
force.
• Work done has no direction, only magnitude
and is a scalar quantity.
• One way of multiplying two vectors A and B is
by dot product or scalar product.
• The dot product of A and B, written as A.B, is
defined as
A.B = AB cosƟ
• W = Fscosθ
• If the force and displacement are not in the
same direction, then the component of the
force in the same direction is used.
• If the force is in newton (N) and the displacement is
in meter (m), work is then measured in joules (J), its
SI unit named in honor of English physicist James
Prescott Joule.
• One joule (1J) of work is done when a force of 1 N
moves through a displacement of 1 m in the
direction of the force.
1 J = 1 N.m = 1 kg.m2/s2
• When CGS units are used, work is expressed in dyne-
centimeters or ergs.
1 erg = 1 [Link] = 1 g.cm2/s2
The angle measure is defined as the angle between the
force and the displacement. To gather an idea of it's
meaning, consider the following three scenarios.
• Scenario A: A force acts rightward upon an
object as it is displaced rightward. In such an
instance, the force vector and the displacement
vector are in the same direction. Thus, the
angle between F and s is 0 degrees.
• F
s
ϴ=0
• Scenario B: A force acts leftward upon an
object that is displaced rightward. In such an
instance, the force vector and the
displacement vector are in the opposite
direction. Thus, the angle between F and s is
180 degrees.
• F
s
ϴ=1800
• Scenario C: A force acts upward on an object
as it is displaced rightward. In such an
instance, the force vector and the
displacement vector are at right angles to
each other. Thus, the angle between F and s is
90 degrees.
F
s
ϴ=900
Sample Problems
• A person pulls an 80-kg crate 20 m across a
level floor using a rope that is 300 above the
horizontal. The person exerts a force of 150 N
on the rope. How much work is done?
• A stevedore lifts a cargo of 10 kg from the
floor to a truck 1.2 m high. How much work is
done by the stevedore?
For each case, indicate which force(s) are doing work
upon the object. Then calculate the work done by these
forces.
• A 10-N force is applied to push a block across
a friction free surface for a displacement of
5.0 m to the right.
• A 10-N frictional force slows a moving block to
a stop after a displacement of 5.0 m to the
right.
• When the force and the displacement are
opposite each other, the work done by that
force is negative. This implies that the force is
actually making the object lose energy instead
of adding to its energy. This is what friction
does: it dissipates an object’s energy.
• A 10-N force is applied to push a block across
a frictional surface at constant speed for a
displacement of 5.0 m to the right.
• An approximately 2-kg object is sliding at
constant speed across a friction free surface
for a displacement of 5 m to the right.
Solve the problems below:
1. How much work is done in lifting a 147.50-kg load
of bricks to a height of 30 m on a building under
construction?
2. Eating a banana enables a person to perform about
4.0 x 104 J of work. To what height does eating a
banana enable a 60-kg woman to climb?
3. Jim Neysweeper is applying a 21.6-N force
downward at an angle of 57.20 with the horizontal
to displace a broom a distance of 6.28 m.
Determine the work done by Jim.
4. A 500-N box initially at rest on the floor was
pushed by a force of 200 N, moving the box a
distance of 8.0 m at constant velocity.
a. What was the work done by each force
that acted on the box?
b. What was the total work done on the
box?
1. A 200-g object is dragged 50 cm upward with
a uniform velocity along a plane inclined 300
with the horizontal by a force parallel to the
incline. The coefficient of kinetic friction
between the object and the plane is 0.25.
What is the total work done on the object by
the different forces acting on it?
I. Work or No Work:
1. A teacher applies a force to a wall and becomes
exhausted.
2. Lee lifts a box of books from the floor and put it on a
table.
3. Chris carried a carton of milk along a level hall
to the kitchen.
4. Sally pushes a crate across the floor of a factory
with a horizontal force.
5. Pete carries a backpack up a high hill.
Solve the problems below:
1. The third floor of a house is 8.0 m above street
level. How much work is needed to move a 150-kg
refrigerator to the third floor?
2. Stan does 176 J of work lifting himself 0.30 m.
What is Stan’s mass?
3. Mike pulls a sled across level snow with a force of
225 N along a rope that is 35.00 above the horizontal.
If the sled moved a distance of 65.3 m, how much
work did Mike do?