POLITEKNIK KOTA BHARU

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATIC,SCIENS AND COMPUTER

B 1004 – SCIENCE TECHNICIAN
TOPIC 4 : WORK,ENERGY AND POWER

WORK:
If an object is moved through a distance, s, by the action of a force, F,
then WORK has been done on the object by the force.
The amount of work done in moving an object is the product of the
component of the force acting on the object parallel to the
displacement, F, and the magnitude of the displacement, s, i.e.

Work is a scalar quantity. The unit of work is the joule, (J), which is
the amount of work done on an object when a force of 1 newton
produces a displacement of 1 metre.

Work done raising an object against the force of gravity:

The force required to lift an object of mass, m,

near the surface of the earth is mg, that is, the
weight of the object, directed upwards.
When it is raised to a height, h, the object is
displaced by a distance h in the direction of the
force.

Thus the work done against gravity, Wg, in raising an object of mass m
through a height h is given by

1
Work done accelerating an object from rest:

If a force, F, is applied to a stationary object of

mass, m, on a frictionless surface, the object
accelerates from rest.
After the object has moved a distance, s, the
work done by the force will be W = Fs

From Newton's second law, the force is related to the acceleration by

F = ma
and from the equations of motion, the velocity, v, of the object after it
has moved a distance, s, is given by
v2 = 2as
The acceleration is thus a = v2/2s
Thus, the work required to cause an object of mass, m, to be
accelerated from rest to a velocity, v, is given by

Equally, the work that needs to be done in order to stop a body of

mass, m, travelling at a velocity, v, is given by W = ½mv2.
Example 1:
How much work is done when a force of 5 kN moves its point of
application 600mm in the direction of the force.
Solution

2
Example 2 :
Find the work done in raising 100 kg of water through a vertical
distance of 3m.
Solution
The force is the weight of the water, so

3
 Energy:
Energy is the capacity to do work. It is a scalar quantity and has the
units of joules, (J).
There are various types of energy, such as gravitational potential
energy , kinetic energy, heat, electrical and chemical energy. Mass is
also a form of energy.

Potential energy:
Objects possess potential energy when they can do work on other
objects by virtue of their position with respect to those other objects.
Various types of potential energy can be defined - each type associated
with a particular force.

Gravitational potential energy:

It is easy to see how an object on which the force of

gravity acts has potential energy acts has potential
energy if we consider two masses m and m' linked by
a massless cord passing over a frictionless pulley.

If the mass, m, which is slightly greater than m',

and is held at a height h above ground level were
to be released, it would fall towards the ground. In
the process, the mass m' would rise against the
force of gravity, m'g, on it.
When m reaches the ground the work done on m'
would be the product of the force required to lift it,
m'g, and the distance moved, h, that is, m'gh.

At the start of the experiment the weight mg has the potential to do

work, or POTENTIAL ENERGY due to its location in the gravitational
field relative to some reference position. In this case, a height, h, above
the ground.
4
 The GRAVITATIONAL POTENTIAL ENERGY acquired by a weight,
mg, in lifting it a distance, h, above the ground is equal to the work
done in lifting the weight, that is, mgh.

Kinetic energy:
An object having mass, m, moving with a velocity, v, has a KINETIC
ENERGY given by

A moving object has the capacity to do an amount of work equal to its

kinetic energy.

Mechanical energy:
The MECHANICAL ENERGY of a body is the sum of its potential
energy Ep and its kinetic energy Ek:

Constancy of mechanical energy for a falling body:

If an object of mass, m, is suspended at rest at a

height, h, above the ground, its potential energy, mgh,
and its kinetic energy is zero. This means that its
mechanical energy is mgh, that is, mhg + 0.

5
 If it is released and falls a distance, h', then
its potential energy is mg(h - h'), and its
kinetic energy is ½mv2. From the laws of
motion, v2 = 2gh', thus the mechanical
energy is given by:
Mechanical energy = mg(h - h') + ½mv2
= mg(h - h') + mgh'
= mgh

Immediately before hitting the ground, the

velocity will be given by v2 = 2gh, the potential
energy will be zero, and the kinetic energy will
be given by Ek = ½mv2 = mgh.
Thus as the body falls, its potential energy is
converted to kinetic energy, but the
mechanical energy has a constant value,
namely mgh. (See the Worked example.)

Principle of conservation of energy:

In general, energy may be present in a system in a variety of forms,
e.g., electrical energy, chemical energy, heat energy and so on. In
mechanics we are concerned with gravitational potential energy, kinetic
e nergy, and, to a lesser extent, heat energy.
The principle of conservation of energy states that the total energy
of a system remains constant
By implication, energy cannot be created or destroyed. It is only
converted from one form to another. During conversion of one form into
another, an apparent loss of energy may occur, due to its conversion
to other, unwanted forms.
For example, conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy takes
place with production of heat, which is wasted. Similarly, conversion of
electrical energy into light energy (such as takes place in light bulb) is
also accompanied by production of heat, which is wasted.

6
 Example 2.1
What is the potential energy of a 10kg mass:

a. 100m above the surface of the earth

b. at the bottom of a vertical mine shaft 1000m deep.

Solution

a)

b)

Example 2.2
A car of mass 1000 kg travelling at 30m/s has its speed reduced to
10m/s by a constant breaking force over a distance of 75m.
Find:

a. The cars initial kinetic energy

b. The final kinetic energy
c. The breaking force

Solution

a)

7
b)

c)
Change in kinetic energy = 400 kJ
By Equation 3.5 work done = change in kinetic energy so

Conservation of energy
The principle of conservation of energy state that the total energy of a
system remains constant. Energy cannot be created or destroyed but
may be converted from one form to another.
Take the case of a crate on a slope. Initially it is at rest, all its energy is
potential energy. As it accelerates, some of it potential energy is
converted into kinetic energy and some used to overcome friction. This
energy used to overcome friction is not lost but converted into heat. At
the bottom of the slope the energy will be purely kinetic (assuming the
datum for potential energy is the bottom of the slope.)
If we consider a body falling freely in air, neglecting air resistance, then
mechanical energy is conserved, as potential energy is lost and
equal amount of kinetic energy is gained as speed increases.
If the motion involves friction or collisions then the principle of
conservation of energy is true, but conservation of mechanical energy
is not applicable as some energy is converted to heat and perhaps
sound.

8
Example 2.3
A cyclist and his bicycle has a mass of 80 kg. After 100m he reaches
the top of a hill, with slope 1 in 20 measured along the slope, at a
speed of 2 m/s. He then free wheels the 100m to the bottom of the hill
where his speed has increased to 9m/s.
How much energy has he lost on the hill?
Solution

Figure 3.3: Dimensions of the hill in worked example 3.5

If the hill is 100m long then the height is:

So potential energy lost is

Increase in kinetic energy is

By the principle of conservation of energy

9
 Power:
Power is the rate at which work is done, or the rate at which energy is
used transferred.

Equation 3.6
The SI unit for power is the watt W.

A power of 1W means that work is being done at the rate of 1J/s.

Larger units for power are the kilowatt kW (1kW = 1000 W = 103 W) and
the megawatt MW (1 MW = 1000000 W = 106 W).
If work is being done by a machine moving at speed v against a
constant force, or resistance, F, then since work doe is force times
distance, work done per second is Fv, which is the same as power.

Example 3.1
A constant force of 2kN pulls a crate along a level floor a distance of 10
m in 50s.
What is the power used?
Solution

10
 Alternatively we could have calculated the speed first

and then calculated power

Example 3.2
A hoist operated by an electric motor has a mass of 500 kg. It raises a
load of 300 kg vertically at a steady speed of 0.2 m/s. Frictional
resistance can be taken to be constant at 1200 N.
What is the power required?
Solution

EXERCISE
11
 1. A box is dragged across a floor by a 100N force directed 60 o above the
horizontal. How much work does the force do in pulling the object 8m?

Figure 1.1

2. A student lifts a 12 kg bag onto his shoulders through a vertical

distance of 1.5 m. What is the work done by the student?

3. A student pulls a 50 kg box up a plane inclined at 30º to the

horizontal as shown in Figure 1.2. If the length of the plane is 5 m, find
the work done in pulling the box to the top of the plane.
5m

30º Figure 1.2

4. A student drags a 60 kg bag at a constant speed along a horizontal

surface through a distance of 3 m. The student does this by exerting a
force of 50 N along a rope which makes an angle of 40º with the
horizontal. Find the work done by the student.

5. The velocity of a 3 kg trolley is increased from 10 m s-1 to 16 m s-1

over a distance of 10 m. Find :
a) The change in the kinetic energy of the trolley,
b) The force that acts on the trolley.

12
 6. An object of mass 5 kg is placed on a shelf which is 0.2 m above a
table. If the table is 0.5 m above the floor. Find the potential energy of the
object with reference to
a) The table top,
b) The floor

7. A steel ball of mass 2 kg is released from a height of 8 m from the

ground. On hitting the ground, the ball rebounds to a height of 3.2 m as
shown in Figure 1.3,
a) If air resistance can be neglected and the acceleration due to
gravity g = 10 m s-2,find
i) The kinetic energy of the ball as it reaches the ground,
ii) The velocity of the ball on reaching the ground,
iii) The kinetic energy of the ball as it leaves the ground on
rebound.

8.0 m
3.2 m

Figure 1.3

8. A 20 kg block of wood is pulled up an inclined plane with a force of

50 N that acts at an angle of 30º with the plane as shown in Figure 1.4.
The block reaches a height of 0.8 m after it is being pulled over a
distance of 8 m along the inclined plane. Find the work done in
overcoming the force of friction.
30º 50 N

8m

0.8 m
Figure 1.4

13
9. A student of mass 55 kg runs up a flight of 50 steps, each of 20 cm
high. What is the power generated by the boy if he takes 22 s to climb to
the top of the stairs?
10. A car moves at a constant velocity of velocity 72 km j-1. Find the
power generated by the car if the force of friction that acts on it is 1500 N.

14