Unit 6: Energy Work Power

Name: Class Date

Details Main Idea

1.0 Conservation of energy NEED to include the
If a system of objects is isolated from its environment and does not ma x d = gainin KE
interact with its environment at all, then certain physical quantities of the method
system cannot change. They are constant or conserved. This is known as
a conservation law and such laws are considered to be the most
fundamental principles of physics.

Thus. in applying conservation of energy concepts, we look at an isolated

system.
Energy within an isolated system is always conserved, and though it may
appear as various forms of energy, the total amount of energy within an
isolated system is constant. Energy can, however, be converted from one
form to another form.

Work is defined as the product of force and displacement.

W=F×s
Work = Force × displacement*
The unit of work is the Joule (J).
Work: A scalar quantity
–Obtained by multiplying two vectors.
–Work has no direction

Examples of how work is done.

Eg. 1.1

Eg. 1.2

ground

Forces at right angles

•If the force is at right angles to the direction of travel then no work is
being done (cos90 = 0).
•So no work is being done against gravity when you push a car along a
horizontal road. One joule =

Energy is the ability to do work. one newton metre

The amount of energy possessed by something is also the amount of work
it can do.

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 Since work is a form of energy it follows that the unit of energy is also the
Joule.

Work is the conversion of one form of energy into another.

Work done = Energy
Work is also done if …………………………………………… transferred
A box, initially at rest, is pushed along a rough floor and stops moving
when the applied force is removed.
Questions
1. (a) Is work being done on the box? ……………………………

(b) How to calculate the work done? …………………………………

(c) What happened to the work done on the box?

…………………………………………………………………….
2. An apple falls through the air.
(a) Who does work on the apple? …………………………………………………….

(b) What happens to the work done on the apple?

…………………………………………………………………….

3. A car has stalled and the driver and his passenger have pushed the car
for distance of 25 m with a combined force of 600 N. Calculate the
work done by the driver and his passenger.

1.1 Forms of Energy

Examples are kinetic energy, potential energy, chemical energy, thermal
energy
If an object has energy, it has the potential to do work.

Kinetic and potential energy are called mechanical energy or ordered

energy. It is noteworthy that thermal energy is disordered energy. Friction
converts mechanical energy into disordered energy.
When no disordered energy is produced, then mechanical energy is
conserved. Conservative forces conserve mechanical energy and do not
produce disordered energy.

Kinetic energy is the energy of moving objects.

Potential Energy is stored energy which can be converted into kinetic

energy.
Examples are
 Gravitational potential store of energy
 Electrostatic potential store of energy
 Stored Mechanical energy (springs, rubber bands, etc)
 Chemical energy (microscopic potential energy)

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Formulas for forms of energy we are already familiar with:
Translational kinetic energy: KE = ½ mv2.
Gravitational potential energy: GPE = mgh.
Elastic potential energy: EPE = ………….

What is the type of energy associated with a marble which rolls down a
ramp?

………………………………………………………………………………

1.1.1 Ways to Transfer Energy Into or Out of A System

Work – transfer by applying a force and causing a displacement of the
point of application of the force, e.g., you push a book
Mechanical Waves – allow a disturbance to propagate through a
medium, e.g., sound, earthquake, tsunami
Heat – is driven by a temperature difference between two regions in
space, e.g., hot coffee

More Ways to Transfer Energy Into or Out of A System

Matter Transfer – matter physically crosses the boundary of the
system, carrying energy with it, e.g., use of petrol in a car

Electrical Transmission – transfer is by electric current, e.g., use of

electrical hair dryer
Electromagnetic Radiation – energy is transferred by
electromagnetic waves, e.g., use of light bulb.

1.2 Work-Energy Problem Solving Strategy

The work-energy method of solving problems is very useful and can be
used to solve many of the dynamics problems that Newton's second law is
applied. Sometimes, it is also easier to solve via this method when certain
conditions are missing.

Key ideas: Change in KE:  KE =

Change in GPE = mgh

WORK-Kinetic Energy THEOREM

Work-energy theorem can also be written as:
work done by the resultant force which is also equal to
the sum of the work done by the individual forces is equal to
change in kinetic energy.
If work is done on an object, then the work done equals the change in the
object’s kinetic energy:
Wnet = KE final – KE initial

If Wnet is positive then Kf - Ki positive,

i.e. KfKi or kinetic energy will increase and

if Wnet is negative then kinetic energy will decrease.

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1.2.1 Method of solving calculation questions:
Always start by writing down all the variables provided. Some of these
may be implied instead of given in the question:

eg. 1.2.1A "the ball is dropped from 1.2 meters above the ground".

eg. 1.2.1B “mass of the ball is 0.60 kg”.

Sketch a diagram of the problem such as what is u or v?

Drawing a free body diagram helps a great deal in this aspect!

Write the work-energy equation. Fill in all the known values in the work-
energy equation. It is possible that at least one term will be zero.
Recall that potential energy is due to a configuration of a system eg.
gravitational potential energy (at a point close to the Earth). Potential
energy by itself is meaningless - it is the change in potential that has
meaning.

Worked Eg 1.3.1:
A ball is thrown upwards with a velocity of 25 m/s.
Find the ball's maximum height.

Hint: What is known?

What is the motion of the ball?
V / ms-1

t/s
Alternatively if we apply the energy method:
Energy method
At height h = 0 m, the rock possesses kinetic energy initially.

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Concept check 1
A small tennis ball is shot vertically upwards. If the height reached by the ball is 30 m at which point will
the kinetic store of energy be equal to the gravitational potential store energy of the ball during the
flight?

Concept check 2
If a ball thrown vertically upward and reaches a maximum height of 25 m,
(a) find the initial velocity of the ball.
(b) State the assumption for your calculation to be valid.

Concept check 3
A small rock is dropped from rest from the top of a building at a height of 68 m. What is the speed of
the rock just before it hits the ground?
Analysis: The rock initially has a GPE but no KE. When the rock is very near to the ground, it
has gained kinetic energy from the conversion of GPE.

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Concept check 4
A car, initially travelling at a speed of 10 ms-1, starts accelerating at 0.50 ms-2. During the interval of
acceleration, the car travelled 40 m. Determine the final speed of the car after it moved 40 m during its
acceleration.

Concept check 5
An object of mass 5 kg falls from rest through a vertical distance of 20 m and attains a velocity of 10
m/s. How much work is done by the resistance of the air on the object?

Concept check 6
A chain of mass ‘m’ and length ‘l’ is kept in three positions
as shown on the right. If h = 0 on the ground find
gravitational potential energy of the chain in all three
cases.

Lifting up an object vertically

A crate is to be brought to a higher place.
Determine the work done required if the crate with mass m is to be lifted up vertically for a height h.

Work to push an object up a slope

Determine the work done to move the mass up the slope if the crate is
pushed up the ramp instead.

mg sin θ
θ

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There are two formulae for work
•Work = Fx
•Work = Fxcosθ

F = Force
x = Distance travelled
θ= Angle between force and direction of travel

1.8 m
Concept check 7
The box has a mass of 70 kg, which is initially at rest, is pushed
along the slope upwards. 30°

(a) Determine the work done by the push along the slope.

(b) Explain how the vertical work can be done via another method.

(c) Under what circumstances would your answer in (a) and (b) be different?

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Power 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤_𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐞
𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 =
𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞_𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧
Power is the ……………………………………………. Or
Power is the rate at which ……………………………………………………………………..
The unit of power is the Watt (W). Alternatively the unit can be expressed as …….…..

Experiment: To estimate the average power developed by a person running up a flight of stairs

1. Calculate the work done in going up the stairs.

This will be the same as the … ………………………….at the top
(mgh), where m is …………………. (requires a bathroom scale).
h:
g:

2.

3.

Efficiency
No machine is 100% efficient – some energy is always ‘lost’ in the process.

⬚
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎 %

Formula to calculate how efficient a machine is:

𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎 %