Experiment 5: Work, Power and Energy Laboratory Report

Nathaniel Baluyut, Kate Baroro, Camille Bausa, Patricia Benito, Jamiellie Chua Department of Speech-Language Pathology College of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Sto. Tomas Espaa, Manila Philippines Abstract Work, power and energy are very much related to each other. As one person does work, energy is used. When a person performs work for a certain amount of time, the rate of doing this work is called power. In this experiment, work, power and energy played a great purpose in explaining the activities performed by the members of the group. 1. Introduction In everyday language, work means an occupation or a job. In Physics, work is a manifestation of energy elaborated as the product of the magnitude of the force and the displacement resulting from application of force. Force and displacement are vector quantities however work is not. Work has no direction, only magnitude. [2] For work to be done, there are three conditions that must be met. First, there must be force acting on the object. Second, the object has to move a certain distance called the displacement. Lastly, there must be a component of the force in the direction of the motion. [1] In relation to work is power and energy. Power is the rate of doing work. Power is measured in joules per second (J/s) or watts. Energy is the capacity to do work. There are two kinds of energy, potential energy and kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by a body in motion. On the other hand, potential energy is a stored energy or the energy at rest. The objectives of the experiment were to: 1) determine conservation of mechanical energy 2) measure change in kinetic and potential energies as a ball moves in free fall and 3) determine power output when going up and downstairs. 2. Theory To determine the amount of work done on an object, the equation is ( ) or

where F is the force parallel to the displacement and d is the displacement. The angle is the angle between the force and the displacement. [1] The SI unit for work is Newton-meters (N-m). This unit is also called joule. To find the rate of doing work (or power), the equation used was:

The sum of the potential energy and kinetic energy is the total mechanical energy. In this system, only conservative forces (a force wherein the total work done in moving an object from initial to final position is zero) are present, therefore, a decrease in potential energy is equal to an increase in kinetic energy and vice versa. This concept is expressed in the Law of Conservation of Mechanical Energy which states that the sum of the kinetic energy and potential energy in a conservative system is constant and equal to the total mechanical energy of the system. [1] 3. Methodology The materials used in the experiment are timer, and foot rule/ meter stick. In the first activity, the weight of each group member was determined by multiplying their mass by the force of gravity. Each member went upstairs and downstairs from the second floor to the third floor of the Main Building. The time to go up and down was recorded separately. The vertical distance or height from the second floor to the third floor was determined by measuring the height of one step and multiplying it by the number of steps taken. The work done in going up and down was computed by multiplying distance and the force or the weight. Power output was determined by dividing work done by time. In the second activity, the graph of the energy of a tossed ball was determined using a motion detector and a program named Physics with Computers. The ball was raised 50cm from the detector and was tossed once to achieve the desired graph.

4. Results and Discussion Table 1 presents the weight (N) and work (J) in going up as well as in going down, the time (s) consumed in going up and, separately, in going down by the members. The said groups individual power output in going down and in going up are shown also. It is apparent that the each members data obtained are different from another. Chua has the biggest weight while Bausa has the least. Chua had the longest time in climbing the stairs in 4.85 seconds. Meanwhile, Baluyut climbed the fastest with a data of 2.46 seconds. Chua exerted work the most in going up and down. The row for power output in going up and down shows that Baluyut had the greatest on both while Bausa had the least on both going up and in going down. Table 1. Data Results in Going Up and Going Down the Stairs: Work, Time, Power and Weight
Members Baluyut Weight 637 (N) Work in 1576.58 going up (J) Time to 2.46 go up (s) Power 640.89 output in going up (W) Work in 1576.58 going down (J) Baroro 539 Bausa 372.4 Benito 450.8 Chua 666.8

1334.03 921.69

1115.73 1650.33

4.20 317.63

4.50 204.82

4.57 244.14

4.85 340.27

1334.03 921.69

1115.73 1650.33

Time to 2.60 go down (s) Power 606.30 output in going down (W)

3.75

4.55

3.94

4.44

355.74

202.57

283.18

371.70

energy. The group identified that mechanical energy is the sum of potential and kinetic energy. From the graph, PE is converted to KE and vice versa. The said energy are not created nor destroyed. In reference to any point of the graph, mechanical energy remains constant. The group also concluded that an object at a greater height has high potential energy. As the objects lowers to the ground, so does its PE. However, the KE increases. As discussed in the Results and Discussion, power output in going up and in going down were determined using the same work yet different time. This explains why power in going up is higher than in going down. 6. Applications 1) Compare the work that you do when you go upstairs to the work you do in going downstairs. Based on this, can you explain why it is more difficult to go upstairs than downstairs? Since the distance covered was the same in going up and going down and a persons weight is constant (unless the person loses some mass in the little time it took to go up and down), the work performed by a person in going up is equal to the work done in going down. It is the power that proves to be different. While a person goes up the stairs, the motion is in opposite direction to the pull of gravity. In comparison, when a person goes down, the motion is in the same direction to pull of gravity. 2) A certain professor finds it easy to go upstairs from the ground floor to the

Figure 1. Graph of the Energy of a Tossed Ball As seen on Figure 1, the ball was thrown to 50 centimeters and had a velocity of 2 m/s. The first graph records the potential energy that the ball had. The second graph on the other hand records the kinetic energy the ball had when it has been thrown. When the ball was tossed, its potential energy increased thus making the slope on the first graph rise. Meanwhile, the second graph showed a descending slope. Relating the two, when the ball is at greater height, its potential energy is also high. Its kinetic energy, however, is low. When the ball has higher velocity, its kinetic energy is high but its potential energy is low. 5. Conclusions In the experiment, the primary goal is to learn more about work, energy and power. The members of the group aimed to demonstrate the conversation of mechanical

third floor of the Main Building by going up to the second floor using the main stairs, walking along the corridor of the accounting division and using the side stairs to go to the third floor. Is there a basis from the point of view of physics? The professor finds it easy to walk through the said path because going to the 3rd floor directly would require more power while walking through the accounting division would provide him a break in exerting power. 3) It is 5 minutes before your 7:00 AM class in the fourth floor and you are still in the ground floor. Will you run or walk upstairs in order not to be late? Assume that your power output is 15 watts and 20 watts when walking and running, respectively. The vertical distance between the ground floor and the fourth floor is 12m and that you weigh 750N. Given the following values: PW = 15 watts PR = 20 watts d = 12 m F (Weight) = 750 N

= [(750 N)(12 m)] / (20 watts) = 450 seconds = 7.5 minutes Therefore, it would be better to run than to walk to be able to go to class. 7. References [1] Padua, A. L., & Crisostomo, R. M. (2007). Practical and Explorational Physics Modular Approach. Quezon City: Vibal Publishing House.

[2] Valdez, B. J., & Navaza, D. C. (2010). Physics. Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House.

= [(750 N)(12 m)] / (15 watts) = 600 seconds = 10 minutes