Work

Work can be done when a force produces a motion. For e.g. when a person climbs the stairs of an office or a
house, work is said to be done as he is moving against the force of gravity.

Basically, Work done by a force depends upon two factors:

(i) Magnitude of the force

(ii) Distance through which the body moves in the direction of force.

Therefore, Work is measured by the product of force and displacement of the body along the direction of force.
It is a scalar quantity and its SI unit is joule.

Work = Force X Distance (S) moved in the direction of force

Or Work = F X S

- If a body gets displaced by S when a force F acts on it, then

Work W = F S Cos θ

Where θ = angle between force and displacement

Note: The condition for a force to do work is that it should produce motion in an object, i.e. if the distance
moved is zero, and then the work done on an object is also zero. For example, if a man pushes a wall, but there
is no displacement that is wall is stationary it does not move, then, the work done by the man on the wall is
zero. But the work done on the body of the man himself is not zero. Because while pushing the wall man
consumes energy, his muscles are stretched and he feels tired.
Also, we can take another example that if a man stands still at a bus stop with heavy suitcase in his hand, he
may get tired soon but he does no work in this situation because suitcase held by the man do not move at all.

So, it is clear now that whenever a force is applied to an object it is not necessary that work is done. Work is
done when force able to move the object.

What happens when work is done against gravity?

Whenever work is done against gravity, the amount of work done is equal to the product of weight of the body
and the vertical distance through which the body is lifted.

Work done in lifting a body = Weight of body x Vertical distance

W=mxgxh

Where W = work done

m = mass of the body

g = acceleration due to gravity

h = height through which the body is lifted

Motion and Mechanics

Energy

Capacity of doing work by a body is called energy. Energy is a scalar quantity i.e. it has only magnitude but no
direction and its unit is joule. The energy required to do 1 joule of work is called 1 joule energy.
1 Kilojoules (KJ) = 1000 joules (J)

The unit joule is named after a British physicist James Prescott Joule.

- Energy developed by a body due to work done on it is called mechanical energy. It is of two types:

(i) Potential Energy

(ii) Kinetic Energy