Work

When a force acts on an object and causes it to move through a distance, energy is
transferred and work is done.

Work is only done when there is movement against an opposing force. For e.g. lifting a book off
the floor to put on a table, here the movement is from the floor to the table and the opposing
force is the weight of the book.

The amount of work done can be calculated by the equation:

The unit for work is Joules (J). One joule of work is done when a force of 1 Newton moves an
object through a distance of 1 metre.

Start End

In order to lift the barbell above his Mass of barbell = 25 + 25 = 50kg

 head the weight lifter need to apply a
force which opposes the downward
acting force of gravity on the mass of
the barbell. The distance from the floor
to above the lifters head is 2 metres.
Weight of barbell = mass x acceleration
due to gravity
W=mxg
W = 50 x 9.8 = 490 Newton
Work done = force x distance
Work done = 490 x 2 = 980 Joules

In the example above the work done by the weight lifter in lifting the weights was 980 joules. In
order to do this work energy had to be transferred. 980 joules of chemical energy from food
eaten by the weight lifter was transferred to 980 joules of gravitational potential energy to the
barbell. Thus the amount of work done is equal to the energy transferred from one form to
another.

Forms of Energy

Energy is the ability to do work.

The table below describes some of the different forms of energy.

Kinetic Energy

Energy by virtue of its motion.

This is the energy that moving objects possess.
Can be made to work when they strike another object.
Examples, moving car, moving person, flowing water.

Gravitational Potential Energy

Energy by virtue of its position.

Any object lifted above the ground gains gravitational potential energy.
The height the object attains gives it the potential to do work when it falls.
Examples, water in a high level reservoir, a skier on the top of a ski slope, a ski diver
before jumping from a plane.

Elastic Potential Energy (Strain Energy)

 The energy a material possesses when it is stretched and is put under strain.
The stored energy from the stretched material can be made to do work when released.
Examples, a stretched bow, the stretched elastic in a catapult, the tightened strings on a
guitar or violin.

Thermal Energy (Heat Energy)

The energy due to the movement of atoms and molecules in a substance.

When a substance is heated up the atoms and molecules move faster and possess
kinetic energy which can be used to do work.
For example heating water to produce steam to drive a turbine in electricity generation.

Chemical Energy

The energy stored in the bonds of atoms and molecules.

When the atoms and molecules undergo reactions bonds are broken and energy is
released in the form of heat or kinetic energy.
Examples, digesting food, burning fuels; fuel is burnt by a rocket to do work against
gravity.

Electrical Energy

Energy due to the flow of electrons.

Work can be done by the flowing electrons in an electrical circuit.
Examples, electrical appliances such as lights, ovens, motor.

Nuclear Energy

Energy stored in the nuclei of atoms.

This is the energy that holds the nucleus together.
Large amounts of energy are released when the nuclei are split or combined during
nuclear reactions.
For example, radioactive uranium nuclei are split in nuclear reactors and the heat
energy released is used to generate steam to drive turbines for electricity generation.

Wave Energy

Waves carry energy.

Sound is the result of the energy transferred through waves.
Radiant energy from the sun travels through electromagnetic waves.
Examples, light waves from the sun, sound waves from a talking person.
Kinetic Energy

This is the energy an object or particle has by reason of its motion.

The formula for kinetic energy is:

From the equation it can be seen that the kinetic energy of a moving object or particle not
only depends on its motion but also on its mass.

Example

The kinetic energy of a car of mass 1000kg travelling at 10 m/s can be calculated as:

KE = x 1000 x (10)2

KE = x 1000 x 100 [remember (10)2 = 10 x 10]

KE = x 100000

KE = 50,000 Joules or 50 kilojoules (kJ)

Gravitational Potential Energy

This is the energy an object possesses by reason of its position in a gravitational field. In simpler
terms it can be considered as the energy an object possesses due to its height from the Earths
surface.

The formula for gravitational potential energy is:

Thus the higher an object is moved from the Earths surface the more potential energy it will
possess. Like kinetic energy gravitational potential energy also depends on the mass of the
object.

In order to raise an object to a certain height above the Earths surface work is done on the
object against the force of gravity. It is this worked that is done to the object that is transferred
and stored as gravitational potential energy.

Example

Calculate the gravitational potential energy of a skydiver with a mass of 80kg about to jump
out of a plane at an altitude of 5000m?

PE = m x g x h

PE = 80 x 9.8 x 5000 [remember acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/s 2

PE = 3920000 Joules = 3920 kilojoules (kJ)

Elastic Potential Energy

This is the energy stored by a material or object as a result of deformation e.g. the energy
stored in a bow when it is stretched.

Elastic potential energy is equal to the work done to stretch or deform the material.

Example

An Olympic archer applies a force of 100N in pulling back her bow by 0.5m. How much energy
is stored in the bow?

Elastic PE = F x d

Elastic PE = 100 x 0.5

Elastic PE = 50 Joules
Thus 50 Joules of work was done by the archer on the bow which will be transferred to the
arrow when it is released.

Electrical Energy

This is the energy that results from the flow of electrons.

The energy in an electrical circuit can be calculated from the following formula:

Example

A 230 Volt mains supply is connected to a 3 Amp electric fan for 5 minutes. Calculated the
electrical energy?

E = Vx Ixt

E = 230 x 3 x 300 [remember 5 minutes = 5 x 60 = 300 seconds]

E = 207000 Joules = 207 kilojoules (kJ)

Conservation of Energy & Energy Transfer

A very important and useful fact about energy is that it can change from one form to another.
When a machine does work the energy is not used up rather it is transferred converted from
one form to another. The amount of energy stays the same or is said to be conserved.

This fact is known as the Principle of Conservation of Energy.

Principle of Conservation of Energy:

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but can be changed from one form to another.

The principle of conservation of energy can be explained by considering the energy changes in a
simple pendulum.
Example of Energy Transfer

A cement work uses a conveyor to transport 25kg cement bags from the ground floor to the
pallet sorting machine situated on the first floor. The conveyor uses an electric motor with a
voltage of 220V and current of 3 A. The time taken for the cement bag to reach the first floor
is 5 s. Calculate the work done in lifting one bag of cement from the ground floor to the first floor and
the electrical energy transferred by the motor in 5 seconds?

Answer:

Work done in lifting one bag

Work done = energy transferred

Cement is lifted to a height of 6m so it will gain gravitational potential energy.
GPE = mass x acceleration due to gravity x height
GPE = 25 x 9.8 x 6 = 1470 Joules

Tip: If we look closely at the gravitational potential energy equation it is the same as that for
Work done = force x distance

Force = mass x acceleration, here the acceleration is due to gravity therefore,

Force = m x g, substituting this value in the work done equation gives:

Work done = m x g x distance, here the distance is height thus

Work done = m x g x h

Electrical energy transferred in 4 seconds

Electrical Energy = V x I x t
Electrical Energy = 220 x 3 x 5 = 3300 Joules

Not all the electrical energy is transferred to gravitational potential energy but is loss as heat via
friction to the moving parts of the motor and conveyor and also as noise energy as the moving
parts contact each other.

Energy Transfer Diagrams

Most of the machines or devices we use transfer energy from one form to another. Input
energy is taken in by the device in one form and transformed to output energy in another form.

An energy transfer diagram or a Sankey diagram is used to show the transfer of energy across a
process or a device. It is a flow diagram in which the widths of the arrows show the relative
amounts of each type of energy.

An energy transfer diagram for a power station along with a Sankey diagram is shown below:
Efficiency

The efficiency of a device is calculated using the following formula:

Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form to another
(the law of conservation of energy).

When energy is transformed or transferred only part of it can be usefully transformed or

transferred. The energy which is not usefully transformed or transferred is referred to as
wasted energy.

Both the useful energy and the wasted energy which is transformed or transferred are
eventually transferred to their surroundings which become warmer. As the energy spreads out
it becomes more difficult to use for further energy transformations.

The greater the percentage of the energy that can be usefully transformed by a device the
higher its efficiency.

Heat (thermal) energy is due to the movement of atoms and molecules in a substance. The
faster the atoms/molecules move the higher the temperature of the substance. Therefore heat
energy is really the kinetic energy of the atoms and molecules of a substance.

Heat energy can be used to do work. When a liquid is heated the liquid will eventually boil and
change to a gas. The gas takes up more space (volume) then the liquid and can exert a great
force. This can be used to drive turbines that can generate electricity.

Heat is the transfer or flow of energy from a hot object to a cold object. It is important to
understand that heat only travels from a hot object to a colder object. Thus an object gets
warm by receiving heat energy and cold by loosing heat energy.

Heat energy can be transferred in three ways:

1. Conduction
2. Convection
3. Radiation

Conduction

Conduction is the transfer of energy from one atom or molecule to another atom or molecule.

The atoms in a substance are always vibrating. When heat is applied to a substance the heat
energy is given to the atoms and they vibrate and move faster and so their kinetic energy
increases. The vibrating atoms bump into neighbouring atoms and pass on their kinetic en ergy.
These atoms then pass on their kinetic energy to atoms close to them and so on. In this way the
heat energy moves through the substance.

Conduction takes place in solids, liquids and gases, but works best in solids as their
atoms/molecules are located closer together. Metals are the best solids for conducting heat.
Metals have tightly packed atoms which can easily pass on their kinetic energy and also have
free moving electrons. These electrons can move from the hot part of the metal to the colder
part transferring the energy more quickly.

Poor conductors or insulators do not possess free moving electrons.

The animation below shows heat transfer in a metal by conduction.

The heat from the flame is given to the atoms and they begin to vibrate faster. The atoms
collide with the atoms close to them and in this way the heat flows from the hot end to the cold
end. As the distance from the flame increases the temperature decreases by a proportional
amount.

Convection

Convection is the movement of heat in liquids and gases. The particles in liquids and gases are
not tightly packed together and so free to move around. When the particles in a liquid or gas
with a lot of heat energy move to take the place of the particles with less heat energy
convection is said to take place and the heat energy is transferred from the hot areas to the
cold areas.

When liquids and gases are heated their atoms/molecules gain kinetic energy and move faster.
As a result the particles move further apart and so take up more volume. As more volume is
taken up the density (mass per unit volume) decreases i.e. it becomes lighter in weight. Thus
the area of hotter less dense liquid or gas will rise into the area of colder denser liquid or gas.
The denser colder liquid or gas will then sink into the warm areas till it is warm enough to rise
and so convection currents are set up and heat is transferred.

The animation below shows heat transfer by convection in a kettle.

The water molecules at the bottom of the kettle gain heat energy from the flame and vibrate
faster and move further apart. Their density decreases and the hotter particle rise to the top of
the kettle. The colder less dense molecules move into replace the hotter particles. This
continues until all the water is the same temperature.

Radiation

Radiation is the transfer of heat energy by electromagnetic radiation and specifically speaking
that by infra red radiation. All objects whether hot or cold radiate heat energy (infra red
radiations). The hotter the object the more heat energy it radiates. All objects also receive
radiation and the exchange of radiant energy is a continuous process. Therefore a body at
constant temperature is receiving and radiating energy at the same rate.

Infra red radiation is an electromagnetic radiation and so can travel through a vacuum, thus
radiation unlike conduction and convection does not require particles for its propagation. It is
for this reason we can receive heat energy from the sun.
The heating lamp transfers heat energy directly via infra red radiation.

The amount of radiation given out by objects depends on their temperature and their surface.
The hotter the object the more energy it radiates and the bigger the heat difference between
the hot object and the surroundings the faster the heat transfer.

Dull dark matt surfaces are good absorbers and good emitters of radiation. For example the
cooling fins on the back of a refrigerator.

Light, shiny surfaces are poor absorbers and poor emitters of radiation. This is why it is best
to wear bright white clothes on a hot day as they reflect the heat and reduce absorption of the
heat energy.