NOTES Energy, Work, &

Power
What is energy & why do we
need it?
Energy the ability to do work
Work moving an object by
exerting a force
Force a push or a pull
Whenever force is used to move an
object, energy is required
EX. When you walk, your muscles pull
on your bones in order to move your
body. This requires your muscles to
use energy.
What is energy & why do we
need it?
Without energy, there could be no
motion
Atoms and molecules could not move
Stars could not shine
Planets could not orbit around stars
Animals could not walk, run, swim, or
fly
The wind could not blow
Messages could not be sent from your
brain to your body
Is work being done when
you hold a book over your
head?
No
But it did take work to
get it there
Whenever work is
being done, energy is
being used
The energy was
transferred from your
body to the book
How much work is being
done?
We can measure the amount of work
being done to move an object
We need to know 2 things in order to
measure work:
1. The amount of force being used
2. The distance of the movement
We can calculate work using the
following formula:
Work = Force x Distance
(W = F x d)
Calculating Work Units of
Measurement
When calculating work, use the
following units:
Force is measured in newtons (N)
Distance is measure in meters (m)
Work is measured in joules (J)
1 joule equals 1 newton multiplied by 1
meter
You do about 1 joule of work when you
pick up an apple and put it on a desk
Calculating Work Sample
Problem
If you lift a 3N book 2 meters off the
floor, how much work did you do?
W=Fxd
W = 3N x 2m
W = 6J
You did 6 joules of work
Question

When you carry a heavy bag of groceries

from your car to your kitchen, what does
most of the work, your arms or your legs?
Explain why.
Your legs, because they move you and
the groceries from the car to the kitchen.
Your arms only lift and hold the groceries.
The legs apply more force over a greater
distance so they do more work
Energy Is Also Measured
In Joules
Since energy is required to do work, it
is measured using the same unit
(joules)
The amount of energy required to do
work is ALWAYS greater than or equal
to the amount of work being done
EX. If you do 6J worth of work to lift a
book, you need at least 6J of energy to
do it
Doing Work Gives Energy to
Objects
When work is done on an object:
Energy is transferred from the object doing
the work to the object having work done on
it
The object doing the work loses energy
The object having work done on it gains
energy
EX. A student pushing a desk across the
floor is doing work on the desk energy
is transferred from the student to the
desk and the student loses energy
Why do we get tired after
doing work?
We give up our energy to all the objects we
touch and move around
In any energy transfer in our body, some
energy is changed to heat and transferred to
our environment the energy is LOST from
our body
Staying alive requires a lot of energy
Heart beating, brain sending messages, cells
moving substances in and out, muscle
contractions, etc.
As our bodys energy gets low, we get tired
What is power?
Power the rate at which work is done
More power means
More work is done in the same amount of time
The same amount of work is done in less time
EX. A person that is a more powerful
runner is faster and can run farther in the
same amount of time as a less powerful
runner (more work in equal time)
EX. A car with a more powerful engine can
accelerate to 60mph faster than a car
with a less powerful engine (equal work in
less time)
Calculating Power
Power is measure in watts (W)
We need to know 2 things in order to
measure power:
1. The amount of work being done
2. The amount of time it takes to do the work
We can calculate power using the following
formula:
Power = Work / Time (P = W / t)
1 watt equals 1 joule divided by 1 second
 Calculating Power Sample
Problem 1
If an engine does 100,000 joules of
work in 10 seconds, how much power
did it use?
P=W/t
P = 100,000J / 10s
P = 10,000W
The engine used 10,000 watts of
power
Calculating Power Sample
Problem 2
Because work equals force multiplied by
distance, another way to write the power
formula is:

Power = (Force x Distance) / Time

P = (F x d) / t

P = W / t is the same as P = (F x d) / t
 Calculating Power Sample
Problem 2
If an engine exerts 3500 newtons of
force to move a car 50 meters in 10
seconds, how much power did it use?
P = (F x d) / t
P = (3500N x 50m) / 10s
P = 175,000J / 10s
P = 17,500W
The engine used 17,500 watts of power
A Watt Measures Work
Done and Energy Used In
an Amount
A Watt equals of Time
1 Joule per second
The more watts, the more work is
done each second
Joules also measure energy, so a
watt also measures energy use per
second
EX. A 100W light bulb uses 100J of
energy each second that it is on