Work

1.

Work is done on an object when a force is exerted to move the object in the same
direction as the application of the force.
Example 1 :

1. The work is the force applied in pushing the trolley to cover the distance from point

A to point B.
2. If the force exerted on the trolley does not move the trolley , then no work is done.

Example 2 :

1. A girl carrying a bag and walking forward is not doing work because the force
exerted on the bag is acting upwards and not in the direction of motion.

2. In science , work means force moving an object a certain distance .

Work has two components :
(a) Force being applied on an object
(b) The object moves a certain distance
Equation for calculating work done :
Work = Force
joules

X Distance moved (in the direction of the force)

newtons

metres

More work is done when the

(a) force that is applied increases
(b) distance that the object moves increases

3. The S.I unit for work is joule (J) or newton metres (Nm)

1 joule (J) = 1 newton (N) x 1 metres (m)

= 1 newton metre (Nm)

1 joule of work is done when a force of 1 newton moves a distance of 1 metre in

the direction of the force

4. Thus the following people are not doing any work from the scientific point of
View ;
(a) A girl studying is not doing work because she does not exert a force over
a distance.
(b) A man who is pushing a car but does not move it is not doing work

(c) A girl carrying a bag and walking forward is not doing work because the
force exerted on the bag is acting upwards and not in the direction of
motion.

Examples activities to show that work is done ;

(a) Running
(b) Climbing the stairs
(c) Diving into a pool
(d) Playing golf
(e) Cycling
(f) Moving a lift

Exercises
1. A horizontal force of 50N is applied to push an object a distance of 2.0m along a
table. What is the work done by the force ?
2. A boy climbs up a ladder 5m high. If the weight of the boy is 450N , what is the
work done to climb up the ladder ?

3. A man does 1500 J of work to lift a box to a height of 2m. What is the weight of
the box ?
4. A box weighing 800N is lifted through a vertical height of 2.0m. How much work
is done on the box ?
5. A farmer does 1500J of work when pushing a stone over a distance of 6 metres.
How much force did the farmer use ?
6. 600 J of energy is needed to push a box weighing 150N along a smooth floor.
Calculate the distance the box is moved.

Figure 7

7. Figure 7 shows a worker who weight 50 kg carrying a load that weighs 5 kg up

the stairs. The total work done by the worker when he goes up the stairs is
(Assume the gravitational force acting on a mass of 1kg =10N)

Application of Power

1. A man carries a box up the stairs in 10 seconds. When his son carries a similar box
up the stairs , he takes 20 seconds.
2. Both the father and his son have done the same amount of work
3. But the power used to get the work done by the father is much more, because the
father does the work at a faster rate than the son.
4. Power is the rate of doing work.
Work done (joules)
Power (Watts) =
Time taken (seconds)

Where
Work done = Force x

Distance moved

The equation above shows that the faster the work done , the greater the power.

5. Power is measured in J s- or watt

Exercises
1. A motor can lift a 200 N object to a height of 5 m in 10 s. What is the power
delivered by the motor ?
2. A students who weighs 450 N runs up a flight of stairs which is 8 m high in 9 s. How
much power does the students use to run up to the top of the stairs ?

3. How much power is required by an engine to raise a 400 N box to a height of 15 m

in 2 minutes ?

4. A lift can carry four people up a building 50 m high in 2 minutes. What is the
power delivered by the motor of the lift ? The average mass of one person is
72 kg .
( Assume 1kg = 10 N)

5. The figure shows a man is pulling a wooden box with a force F. The mass of the
wooden box is 20 kg. 1 kg of mass is equivalent to 10N of force.

What is the work done by the man to pull the wooden box up the lorry ?