PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS- WORK AND WORK ENERGY THEOREM

Work and the Definite Integral.

Work is defined as the force, in the direction of a displacement, times that displacement.
Consider the application of a constant force, F, applied over a distance, x, as depicted in figure:

According to the definition, the work is

which is seen as the shaded rectangular area in figure. In calculus terminology the work is the
area under the curve. The area under this curve is the area of the rectangle, F oxo. The unit of
work is the Joule. (J = N.m).

Example:

a. Calculate the work performed by a constant force of 60N acting in the direction of a
displacement of 3.0m.
Solution:
The force is acting in the direction of the displacement, so the work is the product of force times
displacement.

The force is in the direction of the displacement and the work is simply the product of force and
displacement. Work is a scalar, the dot product of force and displacement.

b. Calculate the work performed by a constant force of 40N pushing a block a distance of
3.0m along a horizontal surface at an angle of 20° with the horizontal as shown in the
figure.

Solution:
The work performed is calculated with equation

Now consider variable forces and look first at a force that is

proportional to x, the displacement, or F =kx where k is a constant.
This form of force is encountered in springs where one unit of force

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 PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS- WORK AND WORK ENERGY THEOREM

compresses (or elongates) the spring a certain distance and the next unit of force doubles the
compression, and so on. The graph of force versus displacement is shown in the figure:
The area under any curve of force versus distance can be approximated by taking a sum
of forces times increments of distances over the curve. In this instance take
each increment as ∆x and the associated forces as
F1,F2,F3… up to N forces and increments as in the figure
below: In mathematical language this sum of the
forces would be written as

where F represents the N discrete forces measured at intervals of ∆x from 0 to x0. This sum is a
collection of rectangles of height F1, F2,…FN and width ∆x.

Better approximations are obtained by increasing the number of intervals (decreasing the width
of each one). In the limiting case the area would be written as

which is a statement that says as ∆x 0 the rectangles become progressively narrower.

Geometrically this limit of the sum represents the “area under the curve” between x = 0 and x =
xo and physically represents the work performed by this linear force over x.
We come now to another definition of work as the integral of the dot product of force and
differential distance.

Example:

a. What is the work performed in compressing a quadratic spring, F = kx 2, with k =

2000N/m2, from 0.30m to 0.40m?
Solution: The force is in the direction of the displacement

Work-Energy Problems

Work-energy analysis is a very powerful tool for solving problems. Force analysis works well in
problems where there is a constant force or where there is a balance of forces. But when the
force acts over a distance, especially when that force is not constant, then work-energy analysis

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is the appropriate analytic tool. To handle the transformation of force over a distance (or work
performed) to energy, we first need to define the concepts of kinetic and potential energy.

Kinetic Energy
A constant force applied to a mass over a distance produces an acceleration according to F = ma.
This acceleration over a distance changes the velocity of the mass in accord with the kinematic
equation

If a in this equation is replaced with F/m then If the constant force over a
distance is identified as the work, then

The work performed on a mass by a force is defined as the integral of the force times the
distance over a specific distance.
derivative which makes the
integral read

The acceleration can be written as a chain

When a force is applied to a mass over a distance and that mass accelerates, then there is a
difference in velocity of the mass between before and after the application of the force. The work
performed is manifest in this velocity and the mv 2/2 form is called kinetic energy. Work is
transformed into kinetic energy.

Gravitational Potential Energy

Gravitational potential energy comes from the acceleration due to gravity and the accompanying
force on a mass on the surface of the earth. If a mass is raised from a height y1 to a height y2,
directly opposite the acceleration due to gravity, then the work performed appears as
gravitational potential energy.

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 PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS- WORK AND WORK ENERGY THEOREM

This mgy term is the gravitational potential. In mechanical systems

the total energy of the system is the sum of the kinetic plus potential energies.
In a mechanical system on the surface of the earth, work performed on the
system (mass) can appear as kinetic or potential energy.

A convenient way of understanding this is to say that work “goes into” kinetic or potential
energy. Goes into may be shortened to the one very descriptive word “Goes into.” As the
problems get more complicated you will find this “Goes into” concept more and more useful.
Look first at a block sliding down a frictionless incline plane as shown in the figure. The velocity
at the bottom of the plane is related to the height, h, from which the block “fell”.

The kinetic energy at the bottom of the plane is mv 2 /2, and this must equal mgh, the potential
energy at the top of the plane. The gravitational potential energy Goesinto kinetic energy.

For the geometric situation shown in the figure, h is 3.4m so

If the block were to continue to slide horizontally along a frictionless surface it would maintain
this 8.2m/s velocity.

Frictional Forces
Frictional forces are proportional to the normal force (the force between the two surfaces) and a
constant characteristic of the interface (the surfaces involved). They also act to oppose the
motion.
Frictional forces acting over a distance result in energy lost due to friction.
Examples:

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 PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS- WORK AND WORK ENERGY THEOREM

a. Place a 3.0kg block at the top of a 3.4m high frictionless incline. At the bottom of the
incline the block encounters a spring with a constant of 400 N/m on a horizontal surface.
No energy is lost to friction. How far is the spring compressed?
Solution: The energy at the top of the plane, which is the same as the energy at the bottom of the
plane, Goes into compressing the spring. The energy at the top of the plane is, from the example
problem, 100J so

b. Now complicate the previous problem by adding a coefficient of friction of 0.20 for the
horizontal surface. How far does the block slide while compressing the spring?
Solution: Now the potential energy Goes into compressing the spring and overcoming friction.
This statement is very helpful in writing the equation. In words, the potential energy, mgh,
equals the energy to compress the spring, kx2 /2 plus the work to overcome friction, µmgx, or

Eliminating the units, which are correct, the equation becomes

with solutions

The negative root is inappropriate for this problem. The block compresses the spring 0.70m
while sliding on this frictional surface.
It is instructive to do a problem first with force analysis and then with work-energy analysis.
Consider the case of a block sliding down an incline plane with a coefficient of friction. As will
become evident, it is possible to do this problem with force analysis techniques. Work-energy
analysis is, however, conceptually and computationally easier. The force analysis follows the
procedures in the chapter on forces.

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Consider the incline plane with friction shown in the figure and calculate the velocity of the
block at the bottom of the plane using force analysis, then work-energy analysis.
Solution: The vector diagram is also shown in the figure. The unbalanced force of 20 N acts on
the 5.0kg block causing it to accelerate at 4.0m/ s2 down the plane.
The slant height of the plane is 6.0m / sin 35° = 10.5m.

This acceleration over the 10.5 m results in a velocity

Second Solution: Now do the same problem using work-energy analysis. When the block is at
the top of the plane, the energy is

At the bottom of the plane all of this (potential) energy has gone into kinetic energy (velocity of
the block) except for the amount used to do work against the frictional force. The work (against
the frictional force) is

The energy “left” after the block has slid down the plane is the 294 J at the top of the plane
minus the 84 J lost due to friction, and this energy (= 210J) is manifest in the velocity of the
block (kinetic energy). This “energy” is equal to the mv 2/2, the kinetic energy of the block at the
bottom of the plane.