Course: B.Sc.

Applied Physical Science(Computer Science)

Subject : Physics
Year : 1st (Semester - 1st)
Paper No. : 2
Paper Title : Mechanics
Lecture No. 5  
Lecture Title : Work and Energy
SCRIPT

Hello friends we all know that one of the fundamental goals of physics is to investigate
something that everyone talks about i.e. energy. The topic is obviously important. Indeed, our
civilization is based on acquiring and effectively using energy. We are surrounded by numerous
energy interactions in our daily lives. When we eat breakfast in the morning, our bodies convert
food energy into kinetic energy as we walk and to potential energy as we climb the stairs. When
we start a car, the chemical potential energy stored in fuel is converted to electrical energy stored
in the battery and used to power the radio, windshield wipers, and headlights. We spend a
tremendous amount of money to acquire and use energy. Wars have been started because of
energy resources. Wars have ended because of a sudden, overpowering use of energy by one
side. Everyone knows many examples of energy and its use, but what does the term energy really
mean?

Isolation and Systems

To undertake the study of energy and interactions, we first need to define two basic concepts:
open and closed systems and isolated and non-isolated systems.

As shown in this figure if a system doesn’t lose or gain particles during the time of measurement,
it’s said to be a closed system. The non-porous boundary of this box prevents movement of
molecules between the box and the outer environment. The inside of the box is therefore a closed
system.
Any other system, as shown in this figure is considered an open system.

With a porous boundary, the molecules of gas in the box can escape while air molecules from
out-side the box can move in. In an open system, there is no way to ensure that the original
contents of the box will remain the same.

If a system doesn’t exchange energy with any object or circumstance outside of its own
boundary, it is an isolated system. Systems that exchange energy with other systems are non-
isolated systems.

A system is closed if the amount of energy contained in it is constant. In practice, a closed

system is difficult to obtain. Nature adds and subtracts energy from a system in many ways, and
most of these processes are not immediately obvious. But many systems lose only a small
amount of their total energy, which allows us to accurately analyze energy transfer.

We can illustrate the difference between open and closed systems using the example of two cars.
Both cars are initially moving at the same speed. Car 1 puts its transmission into neutral and
slowly rolls to a stop. Car 2 continues with its transmission properly engaged and its speed
unchanged.

Now we will distinguish between these two cars from an energy standpoint.
For car 1, the energy removed from the initial kinetic energy of the car is lost to the environment
in different forms. The most common type of energy loss is due to heat, but energy is also lost in
the form of sound and other types of mechanical energy such as air drag, mechanical friction,
and tire deformation as the car rolls. Ultimately, these forms of energy are also heat loss.

In a closed system, energy is transferred from one form to another, but there is no energy transfer
from a source that wasn’t originally in the system. This constraint keeps the total energy
constant. Therefore, for car 1, if we consider the car and the natural environment, then the system
is closed since no energy is coming from a source outside our defined boundary.

For car 2, energy is still being fed into it by its engine. If the system boundaries we have defined
are the same, then the system is open because chemical energy is being transferred from the fuel
tank. However, if we broaden our system to include the energy in the fuel tank, then both
systems (car 1 and car 2) are closed! The system would be open if the cars were being fuelled.
Thus, we must be careful in defining our system. The definition of whether a system is closed or
open is a relative one.

Work
Work is the transfer of energy. Work is done when a force acts on an object, causing the object
to move in the direction of the force. Mathematically, work is the dot product of the force
applied and the displacement:

𝑊 = 𝑭∆𝒅
Where  𝑊 is the work done on an object, measured in joules, 𝑭is the force applied on the object,
measured in newton’s, and ∆𝒅is the displacement of the object, in meters .

In this Figure, two construction workers are applying a force to the right.

Worker A is pushing a wall that isn’t moving, while worker B is pushing a wheelbarrow that’s
moving. Because work depends on displacement as well as force, only worker B is doing work.
Worker A isn’t displacing the wall; therefore, no work is being done on the wall. Worker B is
displacing the wheelbarrow with his applied force; therefore, he is doing work on the
wheelbarrow. So we define work as:

Work W is energy transferred to or from an object by means of a force acting on the object.
Energy transferred to the object is positive work, and energy transferred from the object is
negative work.

“Work,” then, is transferred energy; “doing work” is the act of transferring the energy. Work has
the same units as energy and is a scalar quantity. The term transfer can be misleading. It does not
mean that anything material flows into or out of the object; that is, the transfer is not like a flow
of water. Rather, it is like the electronic transfer of money between two bank accounts:

The number in one account goes up while the number in the other account goes down, with
nothing material passing between the two accounts. Note that we are not concerned here with the
common meaning of the word “work,” which implies that any physical or mental labor is work.
As shown here, if you push hard against a wall, you tire because of the continuously repeated
muscle contractions that are required, and you are, in the common sense, working. However,
such effort does not cause an energy transfer to or from the wall and thus is not work done on the
wall as defined here.
Kinetic Energy
Kinetic energy K is energy associated with the state of motion of an object. The faster the object
moves, the greater is its kinetic energy. When the object is stationary, its kinetic energy is zero.

As shown in figure, a force is applied to a crate of mass 𝑚 , initially at rest on some rollers.
Because of the force𝑭, over time∆𝑡 , the crate undergoes a displacement of  ∆𝒅. Because of the
work done on the crate, its velocity increases from zero to  𝒗! .

Using our knowledge of kinematics and dynamics, we can develop an equation for the work
done on the crate.

𝑊 = 𝐸 = 𝐹∆𝑑 = 𝑚𝑎∆𝑑
Where
𝑣! − 𝑣!
𝑎=
∆𝑡
And
𝑣! + 𝑣!
∆𝑑 = ∆𝑡
2
Since the force and the displacement are in the same direction along a horizontal line, we have
omitted the vector notation.

So,

𝑣! − 𝑣! 𝑣! + 𝑣!
𝐸=𝑚 ∆𝑡
∆𝑡 2
Since𝑣! = 0
 1
𝐸= 𝑚𝑣! !
2
If we let 𝑣! = 𝑣, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛

1
𝐸= 𝑚𝑣 !
2

!
The expression 𝑚𝑣 ! is the term for kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion
!
when work is done on an object. Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity and its SI unit is the joule.
(Work and kinetic energy both have the same unit.)

Work Energy Theorem

As we have seen in the figure in the earlier section of our discussion that since the initial velocity
of the crate in is zero, the crate has no initial kinetic energy. Once work is done on the crate, its
velocity increases and it now has kinetic energy. The change in kinetic energy is caused by the
work done on the crate. Mathematically,

𝐸 = ∆𝐸! 𝑖. 𝑒. 𝑡ℎ𝑒  𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒  𝑖𝑛  𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐  𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦

We can write this as:

𝐸 = 𝐸!! − 𝐸!!
Here  𝐸!! and  𝐸!! represent the final and initial kinetic energies, respectively.
This relationship is called the work–energy theorem. The work–energy theorem states that if the
speed of an object increases, the work done on the object is greater than zero, i.e. if:

𝑣! > 𝑣! , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛  𝑊 > 0.

Conversely, if the work done is less than zero, then the object is doing work on the agent
exerting the force is:

𝑣! > 𝑣! , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛  𝑊 < 0.

The greater the velocity, the greater the kinetic energy of the object, which has constant mass.
The kinetic energy varies directly as the mass and the square of the velocity.

In other words, for a moving object, if the mass is doubled, the kinetic energy is also doubled. If
the velocity is doubled, the kinetic energy is quadrupled.

Gravitational Potential Energy

When we see a book shaking on the edge of an overhead shelf, or when we walk under a ladder
that has a container of paint hooked to the top rung, we can imagine the consequences of the
objects falling. They could potentially damage any obstacles at ground level, including your toe.
The more massive the object and the higher off the ground it is, the greater the possibility for
damage. The ability of gravity to do work on an object by causing it to fall is known as
gravitational potential energy.

Figure here shows the variations in a brick’s gravitational potential energy depending on its
height. In part b of Figure, some work had to be done in order to elevate the brick from ground
level. The work done to lift the brick becomes the brick’s gravitational potential energy. If the
brick were to fall, its potential energy would decrease as it fell. According to the law of
conservation of energy, the total amount of energy of a system must remain constant.

Therefore, if the brick’s gravitational potential energy decreases when it falls, its kinetic energy
must correspondingly increase. The brick accelerates as it falls, pulled by Earth’s gravitational
force.

We can derive an equation for gravitational potential energy from the equation for work as:

𝑊 = 𝐹∆𝑑

But 𝐸! = 𝑊 and  ∆ℎ = ∆𝑑 : therefore,

𝑊 = 𝐹! ∆ℎ

But  𝐹! = 𝑚𝑔. Therefore,

𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔∆ℎ

Using the ground as our reference point for measuring the change in height,  ∆ℎ the
expression  𝑚𝑔∆ℎ represents the change in potential energy fromground level 0 to a height of h.
At ground level,

 𝐸! = 0. So,

∆𝐸! = 𝑚𝑔∆ℎ

Where m is the mass of the object, measured in kilograms, g is the gravitational constant,
measured in newton per meter, and  ∆ℎ  is thechange in height of the object, measured in meters.

Near Earth’s surface, the gravitational constant, g, barely changes. For simplicity’s sake, we will
use g = 9.8 N/m when dealing with objects near Earth’s surface.

Power
The time rate at which work is done by a force is said to be the power due to the force.

𝑊
𝑃!"# =
∆𝑡
If a force does an amount of work  𝑊 in an amount of time  ∆𝑡, the average power due to the force
during that time interval is:

The instantaneous power P is the instantaneous time rate of doing work, which we can write as
 𝑑𝑊
𝑃=
𝑑𝑡
The SI unit of power is the joule per second. This unit is used so often that it has a special name,
the watt (W), after James Watt, who greatly improved the rate at which steam engines could do
work. In the British system, the unit of power is the foot-pound per second.

So friends here we come to the end of our discussion and therefore we sum up:

In this lecture we learnt that

A system is closed if the amount of energy contained in it is constant.

In a closed system, energy is transferred from one form to another, but there is no energy transfer
from a source that wasn’t originally in the system. This constraint keeps the total energy
constant.

Work is the transfer of energy. Work is done when a force acts on an object, causing the object
to move in the direction of the force.

Kinetic energy K is energy associated with the state of motion of an object. The faster the object
moves, the greater is its kinetic energy. When the object is stationary, its kinetic energy is zero.

The ability of gravity to do work on an object by causing it to fall is known as gravitational

potential energy.

The time rate at which a force does work is said to be the power due to the force.

So that is it for today. In the next lecture we shall be discussing about Newton laws. Thank you
very much.