Chapter 5

Work, Power and Energy

What You Need to Know

Herriman High Honors Physics

Energy Facts
 There are different types of energy
 Energy of all types is measured in
Joules
 Law of Conservation of Energy – Energy
can be neither created nor destroyed,
merely changed from one form to
another

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 Types of Energy
(Unit Overview)
 Mechanical Potential Energy
 Energy of Position
 Gravitational
 Elastic
 Kinetic Energy
 Energy of Motion
 If it moves it has kinetic energy
 Heat Energy
 Heat is a form of Energy Transfer
 Other Forms of Stored Energy
 Chemical
 Fuels - usually release energy by combusion
 Food – energy released by digestion
 Electrical
 Generated from other forms of energy

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 Work
 The Physics definition of work requires
a displacement, i.e. an object must
be moved in order for work to be done!
 The Applied force which causes the
displacement contributes to the work,
i.e. in order to contribute to the work,
the applied force must be parallel to the
displacement.
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Work: A Mathematical Definition
 Work = (Force)(Displacement)
 Units of Work = (Newton)(Meter)
 1 Newton•Meter = 1 Joule
 A Joule is a unit of Energy and it takes
energy to do work and work done on an
object either causes it to move (kinetic
energy) or is stored (potential energy)

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 Work done Parallel to the Applied
Force
Sample Problem
 What work is done sliding a 200
Newton box across the room if the
frictional force is 160 Newtons and the
room is 5 meters wide?
W = Ff • ΔX = (160 N)(5 m)
800 Joules

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 Work
(Not Parallel to the Applied Force)
Sample Problem
 How much work is done on a vaccum cleaner
pulled 3.0 meters by a force of 50 N at an
angle of 30° above the horizontal?
 Solve
 Given:
 F = 50 N
 θ = 30°
 Δx = 3 m
 Find W
 W = F cos θ (Δx) = (50 N)(cos 30°)(3 m)
= 130 Joules
Try: p. 162
Practice A
Herriman High Honors Physics Problems 1 & 3
 Kinetic Energy
 Kinetic Energy is energy of Motion
 Any moving object has kinetic energy
 Dependent on the mass of the object and
its velocity.
 Mathematically expressed as:
Ek = ½ mv2

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Sample Problem
 What is the kinetic energy of a car with
a mass of 2000 kg moving at 30 m/s?
 Ek = ½ mv2 = (½)(2000 kg)(30 m/s)2
= 900,000 Joules

Try: p. 166
Practice B
Herriman High Honors Physics Problems 1, 3 & 5
 Work – Energy Theorem
 The net work done on a body equals its
change in kinetic energy.
 Mathematically:
 Wnet= ΔKE
 Net work = change in kinetic energy

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 Work-Energy Theorem
Sample Problem
 On a frozen pont, a person kicks a 10
kg sled, giving it an initial speed of 2.2
m/s. How far does the sled move if the
coefficient of kinetic friction between
the sled and the ice is 0.10?

Try: p. 168
Practice C
Problems 2 & 4
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 Energy of Position:
Gravitational Potential Energy
 Occurs due to the accelerating force of
gravity
 Is determined by the position of the object in
the gravitational field
 Is a form of stored energy
 Mathematically determined by: PEg = mgh
where m is mass, g is the acceleration due to
gravity and h is the height above a
determined baseline.

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Sample Problem
 What is the potential energy of a 10 kg
rock sitting on a cliff 30 meters high?
The acceleration due to gravity is 9.8
m/s2.
 Ep = mgh = (10 kg)(9.8 m/s2)(30 m)
2940 Joules

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Elastic Potential Energy
 Bungee cords, rubber bands, springs
any object that has elasticity can store
potential energy.
 Each of these objects has a rest or
“zero potential” position
 When work is done to stretch or compress
the object to a different position elastic
potential energy is stored

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Elastic Potential Energy

 Top picture is “rest position”; x = 0

 This is a point where the elastic potential energy = 0
 Bottom picture is “stretched position”
 Here elastic potential energy is stored in the spring
 PEelastic = ½ kx2 where k is the “spring constant” in N/m

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Sample Problem
 What is the Elastic potential energy of a
car spring that has been stretched 0.5
meters? The spring constant for the car
spring is 90 N/m.
 PEelastic = ½ kx2 = (½)(90 N/m)(0.5 m)2
=11.25 Joules

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Where Does “K” Come From?
 K is measured in Newtons/meter. It is
defined as the force required to displace
a spring 1 meter. So:
K = F/x
 Often K is determined by hanging a
known weight from the spring and
measuring how much it is stretched
from its rest postion.

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 Sample Problem
 A spring is hung from a hook and a 10
Newton weight is hung from the spring. The
spring stretches 0.25 meters.
 What is the spring constant?
 If this spring were compressed 0.5 meters,
how much energy would be stored?
 If this spring were used to power a projectile
launcher, which fires a 0.2 kg projectile, with
what velocity would the projectile leave the
launcher? Assume 0.5 m compression.

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 Solution
K = F/x
K =10 N/0.25 m = 40 N/m

Ep = ½ Kx2
Ep = ½ (40 N/m)(0.5 m)2 = 5 Joules

Ep = Ek = ½ mv2
5 Joules = ½ (0.2 kg)(v2)
V = 7.05 m/s Try: p. 172
Practice D
Problems 1 & 3
Herriman High Honors Physics
 Conservation of Energy
 To say something is conserved is to say that it
stays the same.
 In the absence of friction, mechanical energy
(kinetic, gravitational, elastic) is always
conserved.
 Mathematically:
 MEi = MEf
 Most commonly we talk about a combination of
kinetic and gravitational energies so this
becomes: 1 2 1 2
mvi  mghi  mv f  mgh f
2 2

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 Conservation of Energy
Sample Problem
 Starting from rest a child zooms down a
frictionless slide from an initial height of
3 meters. What is her speed at the
bottom of the slide? Assume she has a
mass of 25 kg.
 Answer: 7.67 m/s

Try: p. 177
Practice E
Problems 1, 3 & 5
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 Power
 Power = Work/time = Joules/Second =
watt
 Mathematically there are two formulas
for Power:

Fd or since d  v
P then P  FV
t t

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 Power
Sample Problem
 A 193 kg curtain needs to be raised 7.5 meters at a constant
speed, in as close to 5 seconds as possible. The power ratings
for three motors as listed as 1 kW, 3.5 kW, and 5.5 kW. Which
motor is best for the job?
 Given:
 M = 193 kg
 T = 5 sec
 Δx = 7.5 meters
 So: P = W/t = FΔx/t = mgΔx/t
 Substituting: P = (193 kg)(9.8 m/s2)(7.5 m)/5 sec =
2.8 kW
 Which means that the 3.5 kW motor is best for the job

Try: p. 181
Practice F
Problems 2 & 4
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