Work and Energy

• Work Done
• W = Fd
• Units and Direction
• Positive and
Negative Work
• When Work = 0
 Work
• Work (W) is the energy transferred to an
object when a force acting on the object
moves it through a distance

• W=Fxd
o F = the magnitude of force acting on the object
parallel to d
o d = the displacement
 Work Done
• Work is done when you lift
an object

• Work is done to a bow

when you bend it and
work is done to the arrow
when it’s fired

• Work is done to make a car

accelerate
 Work
• Consider a situation where you are pulling a bag
on wheels at an angle Θ to the displacement
• The force parallel to the displacement = FcosΘ
 Work Done – Try It
• W = Fd
W=? F = 10 cos30 d = 20
W = 10 cos30 x 20 m = 173 Nm = 1.7 x 102 Nm
 Units and Direction
• Work is scalar and has no direction
• Its units are Nm = J
• 1 J = 1 kgm2/s2

Stop at 3:42
 Positive or Negative Work
• If the force and displacement are in the same
direction, work is “+”. If F and d are in opposite
directions, work is “-”
• Work is positive, negative, or zero, depending on
the angle between the force and the
displacement.
• d=r

• Try an example on your own for each

 If velocity is constant, isn’t a = 0 and
therefore, F = 0 and W = 0?
• Whenever you talk about the work done, you must be very
careful to specify which force does the work.
• i.e. if the object is moving at a constant v
• Wfriction= Ff x d
F
friction
F = 10 N
ext

= 10cos180° x 1 = -10 J
• Wapp = Fapp x d
= 10cos0° x 1 = 10 J x = +1 m

• Wnet = Fnet x d
=0x1=0J

The net work is 0 but there is still work being done.

 Check Your Understanding
An airport terminal employee is pushing a line of carts at a
constant velocity with a horizontal force of magnitude 95 N.
How much work is done in pushing the carts 16 m in the
direction of the applied force? Express the answer in kilojoules.

Answers: 1.5 kJ
 Check Your Understanding
2000.0 N of force is applied to a cable used to tow a car as seen
below 20.0 km. How much work is being done? Your answer
should be in megajoules (1,000,000 J = 1 MJ).

Answer: 25.7 MJ
 Check Your Understanding
A store clerk moved a 4.4-kg box of soap without
acceleration along a shelf by pushing it with a horizontal
force of magnitude 8.1 N. If the employee did 5.9 J of
work on the box, how far did the box move?

Answer: 0.73 m
 Check Your Understanding
A toboggan carrying two children (total mass = 85 kg) reaches its
maximum speed at the bottom of a hill, and then glides to a stop in
21 m along a horizontal surface. The coefficient of kinetic friction
between the toboggan and the snowy surface is 0.11.
a) Draw an FBD of the toboggan when it is moving on the horizontal
surface.
b) Determine the magnitude of kinetic friction acting on the
toboggan.

Answers: b) FK = 92 N [backwards]
 Check Your Understanding
A toboggan carrying two children (total mass = 85 kg) reaches its
maximum speed at the bottom of a hill, and then glides to a stop in 21 m
along a horizontal surface. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the
toboggan and the snowy surface is 0.11.
c) Calculate the work done by the kinetic friction.
FK = 92 N [backwards]

Answer: W = -1.9 x 103 J

 Check Your Understanding
A bag of groceries of mass 8.1 kg is raised vertically without
acceleration from the floor to a countertop, over a distance of 92 cm.
Determine
a) the force needed to raise the bag without acceleration
b) the work done on the bag of groceries against the force of gravity

Answers: a) 79 N [up] b) 73 J
 Check Your Understanding
A student pushes against a large maple tree with a
force of magnitude 250 N. How much work does
the student do on the tree?

Answer: W = 0 because d = 0
 Check Your Understanding
A 500-kg meteoroid is travelling through space far from
any measurable force of gravity (F approaches 0). If it
travels at 10,000 km/h for 100 years, how much work
is done on the meteoroid?

Answer: W approaches 0 J because F approaches 0

 Check Your Understanding
You are walking east at 30 m/s while holding a box
of mass 10 kg still on your shoulder. You walk 20 m,
how much work is being done on the box?

Answer: 0 J because Θ = 90°

 Zero Work Done - Summary

When W = 0

• if d = 0

• if F = 0

• if Θ = 90°  cos90 = 0
– F is perpendicular to d