Ch-11

Work and Energy

WORK

Work is defined as a force acting upon an object to cause a displacement

It is expressed as the product of force and displacement in the direction of force.

W=F x s

Here, W= work done on an object

F = Force on the object
s = Displacement of the object

The unit of Work is Newton-metre (Nm) or joule (J).

1 Joule is defined as the amount of work done by force of 1 N when displacement is 1 m.

If a force acting on a body causes no displacement, the work done is 0.

Necessary Conditions for Work to be done

Two conditions need to be satisfied for work to be done:
a) Force should act on the object.
b) Object must be displaced.

Work Done Against Gravity

Whenever work is done against gravity, the amount of work done is equal to product of mass of
the object, acceleration due to gravity and the vertical distance through which the body is lifted.
Work done in lifting an object , W = m g h

Work Done By A Force Acting Obliquely

In many cases, the movement of the body is at an angle of the direction of the applied force.
In such cases, we cannot use the formula W = F x s to calculate the work done because the
distance moved, s , is not exactly in the direction of force applied.

If force and displacement are inclined at an angle θ, then work done is given as:
W= Fs cosθ
Sign Conventions for Work Done
a) When both the force and the displacement are in the same direction, positive work is done.
W=Fxs
b) When force acts in a direction opposite to the direction of displacement, the work done is
negative.
W= − F x s
Angle between force and displacement is 180o.

c) If force and displacement act at an angle of 90° then work done is zero.
W= Fs cos 90
W=0
Example – a) If a man carries a suitcase strictly horizontally, he does no work with respect to
gravity because the force of gravity acts vertically downwards and the angle between the
displacement of the suitcase and the direction of force becomes 90 .

b) The work done on a body moving in a circular path is zero. This is because when a body
moves in a circular path, then the centripetal force acts along the radius of the circle, and it is at
right angles to the motion of the body.

c) The work done in the case of earth moving round the sun is zero.
d) The work done in the case of a satellite moving round the earth is also zero.
 In case 1: Positive work is done by applied Muscular Force.
In case 2: Negative work is done by frictional Force.
In case 3: Zero work done is done by Gravitational Force.

ENERGY

 The capacity of a body to do work is called the energy of the body.

 The amount of energy possessed by a body is equal to the amount of work it can do when its
energy is released.
 Energy is a scalar quantity.
 SI Unit of energy is Joules.
 1KJ = 1000 J

Forms of Energy
The various forms of energy are potential energy, kinetic energy, heat energy, chemical energy,
electrical energy and light energy.

Kinetic Energy

 It is the energy possessed by a body due to its motion. Kinetic energy of an object increases with
its speed.

 Kinetic energy of body moving with a certain velocity = work done on it to make it acquire that
velocity
 Formula for Kinetic Energy
The kinetic Energy of a moving body is measured by the amount of work it can do before
coming to rest.
 Ek = mv2

Let an object of mass m, move with uniform velocity u. Let us displace it by s, due to constant force F,
acting on it.
Work done on the object of mass 'm' is W=F×s ….....(i)
Due to the force, velocity changes to v and the acceleration produced is 'a'. Relationship between v, u, a
and s can be given by formula v2 –u2 =2as
∴ s= ..........(ii)

F = ma ..........(iii)
Substituting (ii) and (iii) in (i) we get
W=F×s
W = ma ×
W=m×

If u=0 (object starts at rest)

W = mv2

Every object in motion possess kinetic energy and that has been converted into work done. So, the
kinetic energy must be equal to this work W.
∴ K.E = mv2

Where m = mass of the body

v = velocity of the body at particular instant
If the initial velocity is not zero then
Work done = Change in kinetic energy = m(v2 – u2)
This is known as Work-Energy Theorem
Potential Energy
The energy possessed by a body due to its position or shape is called its potential energy.
For Example:
 Water stored in a dam has large amount of potential energy due to its height above the ground.
 A stretched rubber band possesses potential energy due to its distorted shape.

Types of Potential Energy

On the basis of position and change in shape of object, potential energy is of two type:
1. Gravitational Potential Energy:
It is the energy possessed by a body due to its position above the ground.
2. Elastic Potential Energy:
It is the energy possessed by a body due to its change in shape.
 Expression for Potential Energy
The Gravitational potential energy (Ep) is equal to the work done over an object of mass ‘m’ to
raise it by a height ‘h’.
Thus, Ep=mgh, where g = acceleration due to gravity.

POWER
The time rate of doing work is defined as power (P).
Power = work/time
Unit of power
 SI unit of Power is Joule per second or J/s.
 1 watt is the power when 1J of work is done in 1s.
 The bigger unit of power is Kilowatt and represented by kW.
1kW = 1000W
 Some another units to measure power are:
1 Megawatt = 106 watt
1 horse power = 746 watt

Commercial unit of energy

 Commercial unit of energy is kilo watt hour (kWh)
 The unit kilowatt-hour means one kilowatt of power supplied for one hour.
1 kWh = 1 kW x 1 h
= 1000 W x 60 x 60 s
= 1000 Js-1 x 3600 s
= 3.6 x 106 J
1 unit = 1 kilowatt hour = 3.6x106 J.

Energy Converter
a) Electric Motor: Electrical Energy Mechanical Energy
b) Electric Iron: Electric Energy Heat Energy
c) Electric bulb: Electric Energy Heat Energy Light Energy
d) Radio: Electric Energy Kinetic Energy Sound Energy
e) Steam Engine: Heat Energy Kinetic Energy (or Mechanical Energy)
f) Car Engine: Chemical Energy Heat Engine Kinetic Energy
g) Gas stove: Chemical Energy Heat Energy
h) Solar Water Heater: Light Heat Energy
i) Solar Cell: Light Energy Electrical Energy
j) Cell/Battery: Chemical Energy Electrical Energy

Law of Conservation of Energy

It states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but it can be transformed from one
form to another.
The total energy before and after the transformation remains the same.

Conservation of Energy during the free fall of a Body

Suppose we have a ball of mass ‘m’ and we raise it to a height ‘h’ above the ground. The work
done in raising the ball gives it a potential Energy equal to mgh. Let us allow the ball to fall
downwards. As the ball falls, its height ‘h’ above the ground decreases and thus the potential
Energy also decreases. But as the ball falls, its velocity v constantly increases and therefore its
Kinetic Energy mv2 also increases. As the ball falls more and more, its potential energy is gradually
converted into an equal amount of kinetic energy. But the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy
of the ball remains the same at every point during its fall.
Derivation :

m = mass of the body

g = Acceleration due to gravity

At point A,
AC = height of object from ground = h
Initial speed, u = 0
So, P.E. = mgh

TE = P.E + K.E = mgh + 0

TEA =mgh ... (i)
At point B,
PE = mg (BC) = mg (h – x) = mgh – mgx
Use kinematics equation

TEB =P.E.+K.E=mgh–mgx+mgx=mgh .......(ii)

At point C,
P.E. = 0

Use kinematics equation

⇒ v2 =2gh
So,
T.Ec =K.E+P.E.=mgh+0=mgh …...(iii)
Therefore, TEA =TEB = TEc
Hence, the total energy of the body is conserved during free fall.