EPHYS 001 PHYSICS FOR ENGINEER 1

Topic: WORK, ENERGY and POWER

Intended Learning Outcomes:
1. Differentiate work done by a constant force from a work done by a varying force.
2. Apply knowledge in scalar product of two vectors in finding work.
3. State Law of Conservation of Energy.
4. Differentiate Kinetic Energy from Potential Energy.
5. Relate work to energy.
6. Define power.
7. Solve problems involving work, energy and/or power.

W=F

Work is the amount of energy transferred by a force acting

through a distance.
The French mathematician Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis first coined
the term work in 1826.
Work is a scalar quantity.

Work is zero (W=0), when F is perpendicular to .

Work is positive (W= + ), when F and are in the same

direction.
Work is negative (W= - ), when F and are in the opposite
direction.

Unit of Work is Joules (J)

1J=1Nm
1 J = 1 kg m2 / s2
WORK DONE BY A CONSTANT FORCE Unit of work in cgs is dyne-cm or erg
- The product of the magnitude of the force, the magnitude 1J = 107 ergs
of the displacement and cos , where is the angle
between the force and the displacement. Sample Problem 1.
A man cleaning a floor pulls a vacuum cleaner with a force of
F magnitude F = 50.0N at an angle of 30.0 0 with the horizontal.
Calculate the work done by the force on the vacuum cleaner as
the vacuum cleaner is displaced 3.00 m to the right.

W=F cos

THE SCALAR PRODUCT / DOT PRODUCT of two

vectors
F
 Find the angle between .

is the angle between A and B

When applied to work:

Since W ,

W=

Properties of Scalar Product / Dot Product

 Commutative
 Obeys the Distributive Law of Multiplication

Dot Product of Unit Vectors Work as the Area under the Graph
- Consider a particle being displaced along the x-axis under
the action of a force of magnitude F x in the x direction. The
work done by the force as the particle moves a
displacement ∆x is

W = Fx
Using Vector Notations to find the Dot Product of two vectors: Sample Problem:
Sample Problem 4.
If and Find the work done by the force as a particle moves from 0 to
20m.
Then

In special case where: ;

= A2

Sample Problem 2.
The vectors and are given by and

a. Determine the scalar product

b. Find the angle between

WORK DONE BY A VARYING FORCE

Sample Problem 3.
Find the work done in moving an object along a vector with a

Force .
The total work done for the displacement from xi to xfis
approximately equal to the sum of the areas of all the rectangles.
 Sample Problem 7.
A body moving along the x-axis is acted upon by a force with x as
The total work can be found by taking the limit as ∆x goes to zero shown. How much work is done by this force as the object moves
from x=1.0 m to x = 8.0 m?

The most general definition of the net work done on a particle is

Sample Problem 5.
We have a cable that weighs 2 lbs/ft attached to a bucket filled
with coal that weighs 800 lbs.  The bucket is initially at the
bottom of a 500 ft mine shaft. Determine the amount of work
required to lift the bucket to the midpoint ofthe shaft.

Solution:
  

Sample Problem 6.
Force acting on a particle varies with x as shown in the figure. ENERGY
Calculate the work done by the force on the particle as it moves • “the ability to do work”
from x=0 to x=30 m.
The combination of energy and matter make up the universe:
- Matter is substance, and energy is the mover of substance.

The Law of Conservation of Energy

• Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it may be
transformed from one form into another, but the total
amount of energy never changes.

How is all energy divided?

What is Potential Energy?

o Energy that is stored and waiting to be used later

What is Gravitational Potential Energy?

- Potential Energy due to an object’s position
- Potential Energy associated with an object at a given
location above the surface of the Earth.
 o Ug = mgy
where :
Ug = gravitational potential energy in
Joules
m= mass of the particle in kg
g = acceleration due to gravity in m/s2
y = distance avbove the Earth’s surface
in m
o a scalar quantity
o always associated with a system of two or more interacting What is Chemical Potential Energy?
objects

Work done by Conservative and Non-Conservative

Forces
If the net work done by a force does not depend
on the path taken between two points, then that
force is a conservative force.

Suppose a particle moves from ri to rf . Then the

What is Kinetic Energy?
work done on the particle by a conservative force is o Energy an object has due to its motion
related to the corresponding potential energy U(r)
function by:
where :
K = kinetic energy in Joules
WORK may change the Gravitational Potential Energy
m= mass of the particle in kg
Work = ∆Ug v = speed of the particle m/s
= Ugf - Ugi o a scalar quantity
= (mgy)f – (mgy)i
= mg (yf -yi)

Sample Problem 8.
A 7.00 kg bowling ball held by a careless bowler slips from the
bowler’s hands about 0.500 m from the floor and drops on the
bowler’s toe (0.0300 m from the ground). Compute the change in A change in Kinetic Energy is one possible result of doing Work to
gravitational potential energy of the ball Earth system as the ball transfer energy into a system.
falls.

Work – Kinetic Energy Theorem

When work is done on a system and the only change in the
system is in its speed, the net work done on the system equals
the change in kinetic energy of the system.

Work = ∆K
= Kf - Ki
= (½ mv2)f - (½ mv2)i
= ½ m (vf2 – v i2)

Note:
o The speed of the system increases if the work done on it is
positive.
What is Elastic Potential Energy? o The speed of the system decreases if the net work is
negative.
 US Customary System: horsepower
1 hp = 746 W
Sample Problem 9.
A 6.0 kg block initially at rest is pulled to the right along a
horizontal, frictionless surface by a constant horizontal force of Sample Problem 10
12 N. Find the block’s speed after it has moved 3.0 m. Water flows over a section of Niagara Falls at a rate of 1.2×10 6
kg/s and falls 50m. How many 60W bulbs can be lit with this
power?

POWER
• measures the rate of work done.
• rate at which energy is expended.
• the amount of work done, divided by the time it takes
to do it.

P = W/t
where:
P = Power in Watt
W = Work in Joules
t = time in seconds

Since work performed equals energy expended,

• The watt is defined as the expenditure of
1 joule of energy in 1 second.
(75 watt light bulb consumes 75 J/sec)

P=

where:
P = Power in Watts
= Force in Newton

= velocity in m/s
Units of Power:
SI unit: Watts
1W = 1 J/s
= 1 Nm/s
= 1 kg m2/ s2