Force, Work, Power And Energy

Linear Momentum
It is a common observation that we require more force to stop a heavier body
as compared to a lighter body. If you catch a cricket ball as well as a table-
tennis ball, then you will observe that more force is required to catch the
cricket ball as compared to that required to catch a table-tennis ball. This
happens because the mass of the cricket ball is more than that of the table-
tennis ball. Hence, we can conclude that the force required to stop the motion
of a body is directly proportional to its mass.

Similarly, more force will be required to throw the cricket ball as compared to that
required to throw the table-tennis ball.

Let us assume that you have two cricket balls of the same mass. You throw one ball with a lesser
force and the other with a greater force. What do you expect to happen? The ball that is
thrown with the greater force will move with a greater velocity as compared to that thrown with
the lesser force.

Hence, we can conclude that the effect of force on a body can be described with the help of its
mass and velocity. To describe this, Newton defined the term momentum. He defined it as the
product of the mass and velocity of a body, i.e.,

Momentum = Mass Velocity

Or, p = m v

Where, p = momentum; m = mass; v = velocity

The kind of momentum we have just defined is known as linear momentum as it is about the linear
motion of a body. You will learn in later classes about angular momentum which deals with the
rotational motion of a body.

Let us try to find the momentum of a cricket ball weighing 150 g moving at a speed of
20 m/s.

To find the momentum of the ball, we multiply its mass and speed.

Mass of the ball = 150 g = 0.15 kg

Velocity of the ball = 20 m/s

Momentum of the ball = 0.15 kg 20 m/s

= 3 kg m/s

Thus, the unit of momentum is kg m/s.

Newton's Second Law of Motion

A heavy wooden block is lying on a table. If you give it a gentle
push, then it will move with a low velocity. In other words, if we
apply a smaller force on the block, then its momentum changes
slightly.

If you push the wooden block with a greater force, then the
change in its momentum will be greater. Hence, we can
conclude that the change in the momentum of a body is directly
proportional to the strength of the applied force. This brings us
to Newtons second law of motion. It is stated as

The rate of change of momentum of an object is directly proportional to the unbalanced

force acting on it. The direction of the unbalanced force is the same as the direction of
the change of momentum.

Real world examples of Newtons second law of motion

High Jump

During an athletics event, the participants in the high jump event are provided with cushions to fall
on after completing a jump. This is done to prevent any kind of injury to the athletes. When an
athlete falls on the cushion, it takes him a longer period of time to

come to a stop. A small stopping force acts on the athlete

because his rate of change of velocity is low. As a result, the
athlete does not get hurt. If the athlete would have fallen on a
hard surface, then his velocity would have been reduced to zero
in a very short time. In this case, a large stopping force acts on
the athlete because his rate of change of velocity is high. As a
result, the athlete gets hurt.

Catching a ball

Let us understand see what happen when we catch a ball.

Seat belts

A very useful application of this law lies in the use of seat belts in
cars. To prevent injuries to passengers in the case of an accident, all
cars are provided with seat belts. In the event of an accident, a fast
moving car stops suddenly, i.e., its high velocity is reduced to zero in
a very short interval of time. The time taken by the passengers to fall
gets increased because of the seat belts worn by them. The rate of
change of velocity of the passengers gets reduced because of the
increase in the time taken by them to fall. Hence, a lesser stopping
force acts on them as a result of which, injuries are reduced.

Mathematical formulation of Newtons second law of motion

Consider a body of mass m. It initially moves with velocity u and accelerates at a constant rate a.
It attains a final velocity v after time t. This acceleration is caused by force F. Now, Newtons
second law of motion can be mathematically represented as

You know that,

Using this, we obtain

F = ma = Mass Acceleration
Thus, we can re-state Newtons second law of motion as

Force acting on a body is equal to the product of its mass and acceleration.

Work
Consider the following day-to-day activities: Reading,
speaking, singing, writing, thinking etc. We require
energy to perform these activities, which we derive
from the food we eat. Did you know that actually
no work is involved in performing these
activities? Do you think that a weightlifter does
work while standing with weight over his head, as
shown in the given figure?

Even if you push a wall with the maximum

force that you can apply, the wall will not
move. It will be interesting for you to note
that even in this case, you are not doing
any work at all! Do you know why?

Work is not done in all the above activities because there is a basic difference between the term
work and the term which we use for our daily activities.

Scientifically, work is defined as the work done by a force that causes a displacement in
an object.

If you push a book placed on a table with a

force, then it will move to a certain distance.
Scientifically, we will say that some work has
been done on the book. Can you name the
force against which work is done?

In this case, work is done against frictional

force, which exists between the book and the
surface of the table.
 If you lift the book to a certain height, then a
force is exerted against gravity, which displaces
the book to a certain height. Hence, one can say
that work is done on the book against the force of
gravity.

If you push a trolley full of books, then it will move through a certain distance.
In this case, the applied force causes a displacement in the trolley. Do you
think any work is done on the trolley?

Work Done by a Constant Force

A wooden block is kept on a table. When a force of magnitude F

acts on the block, it gets displaced through a distance S in the
direction of the applied force, as shown in the given figure.

The magnitude of work done is given by the product of force (F) and displacement (S).

Let W be the work done on the block.

Work = Force Displacement

Work has magnitude only. It has no direction.

Unit of Work

To obtain the unit of work, we substitute the SI units of force, i.e. N, and distance, i.e. m, in the
equation of work.

W=Nm

= Nm
Hence, the unit of work is Nm. In the honour of physicist James P. Joule, the SI unit of work is
written as Joule (J).

Hence, 1 J = 1 Nm

1 Joule is defined as the amount of work done by a unit force such that it displaces an object by a
distance of 1 m.

Work done against gravity

When force is applied on an object in order to lift it above the ground, it is said that work is done
against the force of gravity.

Assume that a constant force of magnitude F is applied on a block of mass m to lift it to a height h
above the ground.

In this case, the work done by the force against gravity is given
by the product of the weight of the block and the height through
which it is lifted above the ground.

Work done = Weight Height

W = mg h

W = mgh

Where, g is acceleration due to gravity.

Negative work

A soccer player moves backward while stopping a fast moving football. To move backward, he
applies a force in the forward direction. Is the direction of displacement and the direction of
applied force the same?

Here, the directions of displacement (S) and applied force (F) are exactly opposite to each other.
Hence, we can say that the work done by the force is negative. This case can be described with
the help of the following figures.
Hence, the work done by force F is given by

W = F (S) or W = (F) S

In both the cases, the work done will be negative.

Zero Work

When a body moves through a distance at right angle to the direction of force, the work
done by the force on the body is zero.

A book kept on a table moves from point A to point B through a distance S. In this case, the work
done on the book by gravitational force is zero because the force is acting at right angle to the
displacement of the book.

Power
Consider the following situations and try to answer the questions.

I Shamsher takes 5 minutes while Shashank takes 6 minutes to do

50 chin-ups. Who is more powerful if their weights are the
same?

II
 Anuj takes 10 seconds while Aruna takes 8 seconds to
climb a 40-step staircase. Can you say that Aruna is
more powerful than Anuj if both have the same
weight?

III Amit takes 5 seconds to lift a bucket of water from a well while
Ravinder takes only 3 seconds to do so. Who is more powerful?

In each of the above examples, there is a comparison between the times taken by two different
persons to do a certain amount of work, i.e., the rate of work done by one person is compared
with that of the other. We define this rate of work done as the power of the person.

Power is defined as the rate of work done.

Power (P) is given by the ratio of work done (W) and the time taken (t) to do that work, i.e.,

Power =

Or

This relation shows that for a given work, power is inversely proportional to the time taken.

In case I, the time taken by Shamsher is less than that taken by Shashank for the same work
(with both having the same weight). Hence, the power of Shamsher is greater than that of
Shashank. Hence, Shamsher is more powerful than Shashank.

In case II, Anuj takes more time to climb the stairs than Aruna. Hence, Aruna is more powerful
than Anuj.
Finally, in case III, Amit takes more time to lift a bucket of water from the well than Ravinder.
Hence, Ravinder has more powerful than Amit.

Whenever work is done, an equal amount of energy is consumed. Hence, we define power as

Power =

The SI unit of power is watt (W), in honour of the physicist James Watt.

Kinetic Energy

The world requires a lot of energy. To satisfy this

demand, we have natural energy sources such as the sun,
wind, water present at great heights, tides, etc. We also
have artificial energy sources such as coal, petroleum,
natural gas, etc.

Energy exists in various forms such as light, sound, motion, etc.

Forms of energy

Some forms of energy are

1. Light
2. Sound
3. Heat
4. Mechanical
5. Electrical
6. Chemical
7. Nuclear

In this section, we will consider only mechanical energy.

Mechanical energy

It is the form of energy possessed by an object having the potential to do work. It is caused by the
motion, or the position and configuration of the object. Mechanical energy is of two types.

(i) Kinetic energy (caused by the motion of an object)

(ii) Potential energy (caused by the position and configuration of an object)

Kinetic energy

A body possesses kinetic energy by virtue of its motion. A

moving arrow can be made to go through an object. Hence, it is
said that the arrow possesses kinetic energy.

The elastic string of a catapult is stretched to throw a stone. The work done is stored in the stone
and the string. After its release, the stone is said to possess kinetic energy.

Take a long cardboard and fold it so that it

has two hump-like peaks with a valley in
between them (see figure). Mark point I at
the top of the hump, and points II, III, and
IV at respective distances of 10 cm, 20 cm
and 30 cm from point I. Now, allow a ball to
roll down from each of these marked points,
one by one. Measure the vertical height
attained by the ball on the second hump in
each case. Compare these heights. What
do you observe?

You will observe that the ball will reach its highest point when it is dropped from point I. It will
reach its lowest height when it is dropped from point IV. What causes the ball to go up?
Discuss the results with your friends.

A stone dropped from a height has the capability to create a depression in wet ground. Hence, the
dropped stone has some amount of kinetic energy. A fired bullet can get embedded in a wall or a
wooden block. Hence, it is said that a moving bullet possesses kinetic energy. Can you find out
how much energy is possessed by a moving object because of its motion?

For this, let us derive a formula for kinetic energy.

Formula for kinetic energy

Kinetic energy of a moving body is equal to the work required to change its velocity from u to v.

Let a body of mass m be moving with a uniform velocity u. Let an external force be applied to it,
such that it gets displaced by a distance s, and its velocity becomes v.

We have velocityposition relation as

v2 = u2 + 2as

Where, a = Acceleration of the body during the change of velocity

Or (1)

Hence, the work done on the body by the force is given by

W=Fs

F = ma

W=

If the body is initially at rest, i.e., u = 0, then

Since kinetic energy is equal to the work done on the body to change its velocity from 0 to v, we
obtain

Kinetic energy,

Hence, the kinetic energy of a body increases with its velocity.

Its SI unit is Joule (J).

Kinetic energy of a body is directly proportional to

(i) Its mass (m)

(ii) The square of its velocity (v2)

It is the kinetic energy of the wind that is used in windmills for generating electricity.

Potential Energy

Stretched string gains potential energy

Potential energy of an object can be defined as the energy possessed by the object by
virtue of its position or condition.

Potential energy possessed by a body by virtue of its configuration is known as elastic

potential energy.
Potential energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position with respect to the ground
is known as gravitational potential energy.

A body possesses potential energy by virtue of its configuration or position.

Where does a keyed toy car derive energy to move?
When we turn the key the spring gets wound and if we leave the toy car on the floor it starts
moving due to the unwinding of the spring. This means that the wound spring possesses energy,
which in turn moves the toy car. Here the gain in energy is due to its position or condition.

Take a rubber ball and go to the top floor of a building. Now, drop the ball from a height onto
the floor where you are standing. The ball will rebound to some height. Observe the height of
the rebound. Now, drop the ball onto the ground below and again note the height of rebound of
the ball.
You will observe that the ball rebounds to a greater height when dropped on the ground than
when it is dropped on the floor where you stand. This is because the energy of the ball while
hitting the ground is greater than its energy while hitting the floor. From where does the ball
get this large amount of energy?

We know the fact that any object located at a height with respect to a certain reference level is
said to possess energy called gravitational potential energy. This energy depends on this reference
level (sometimes also referred as ground level or zero level). When a ball is taken to the top floor
from the ground floor, it acquires some gravitational potential energy. When this ball is dropped
from a height h1 onto the top floor, the zero level is the top floor itself. When the ball is dropped
from a height h2 onto the ground, the zero level is the ground. Since the distance covered by the
ball is greater in the second case, i.e., h2 > h1, it rebounds to a greater height in the second case.
Hence, we conclude from the above discussion that the potential energy stored in a body is
directly proportional to its height with respect to zero level.
Formula for gravitational potential energy
The gravitational potential energy of an object is equal to the work done to raise it through a
height from the ground.
Let us prove it.
Consider an object of mass 'm', raised through a height 'h' above the earth's surface. The work
done against gravity gets stored in the object as it's potential energy (gravitational potential
energy).

Therefore, potential energy = work done in raising the object through a height 'h'.
Object of mass 'm', raised through a height 'h'

Potential energy = F x s 1

But F = mg [Newton's second law of motion]

s=h

Substituting for F and s in equation (1) we get

Potential energy = mg x h

Potential energy = mgh

From the above relation it is clear that the potential energy of an object depends on the height
from the ground.

The gravitational potential energy of water stored in a dam is used

for generating electric energy in a hydropower plant.

Law of Conservation of Energy

What causes a ball dropped from a height to move? When an arrow is released from a
bow, what causes the arrow to acquire kinetic energy?

Since a ball at a height and an arrow in the stretched string of a bow possess potential energy
(by virtue of their position and configuration respectively), they both acquire kinetic energy.
Does this mean that the potential energy stored inside the ball and the arrow is
converted into kinetic energy?
We observed a number of examples in nature in which a form of energy is converted into another.
For example, the chemical energy of food we eat gets converted into muscular energy, which is
used to do work such as cycling, walking, lifting a load, etc.

During cycling, the muscular energy of the cyclist is converted

into the kinetic energy of the bicycle, thereby causing the cyclist
to move forward. One thing to be noted here is that the total
energy of the system (Cyclist + Bicycle) remains unchanged,
i.e., (Muscular energy + Kinetic energy) remains unchanged
during cycling.

Conservation of energy

Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form into another.
In other words, the total amount of energy in a system always remains constant.

For example, in a burning candle, the chemical energy stored in the

wax is transformed into light and heat energy.

The total energy, before and after the burning of the candle, remains
constant.

Let us now prove that the above law holds good in the case of a freely falling body.

Let a body of mass 'm' placed at a height 'h' above the ground, start falling down from rest.

In this case we have to show that the total energy (potential energy + kinetic energy) of the body A, B and C
remains constant i.e, potential energy is completely transformed into kinetic energy.
Body of mass m placed at a height h

At A,

Potential energy = mgh

Kinetic energy = 0 [the velocity is zero as the object is initially at

rest]

Total energy at A = Potential energy + Kinetic energy.

Total energy at A = mgh 1

At B,

Potential energy = mgh

= mg(h - x) [Height from the ground is (h-x)]

Potential energy = mgh - mgx

Kinetic energy = mv2

The body covers the distance x with a velocity v. We make use of the third equation of motion to obtain velocity
of the body.

Here, u=0, a=g and s=x

Kinetic energy = mgx

Total energy at B = Potential energy + Kinetic energy

Total energy at B = mgh 2

At C,

Potential energy = m x g x 0

Potential energy = 0

Kinetic energy = mv2

The freely falling body has covered the distance h.

Here, u=0, a=g and s=h

Kinetic energy = mv2

Kinetic energy = mgh

Total energy at C = Potential energy + Kinetic energy

Total energy at C = mgh 3

It is clear from equations 1, 2 and 3 that the total energy of the body remains constant at every point. Thus, we
conclude that law of conservation of energy holds good in the case of a freely falling body.

Simple pendulum

A simple pendulum consists of a bob suspended by a section of string from a fixed support. It
works on the principle of alternative transformation of kinetic and potential energy. At any instant,
the total energy of the bob remains the same.
When the bob is raised to point A, it has only potential energy. It has no kinetic energy at this
point as it is at rest. When the bob is released from this point, its potential energy gradually
decreases and its kinetic energy gradually increases, such that it consists of both potential and
kinetic energy at the intermediate position B. At point C, the potential energy of the bob is zero
because this point passes through the zero level. When it moves to the other side, its potential
energy increases and kinetic energy decreases, so that it again consists of both potential and
kinetic energy at point D. At the extreme point E, the bob is again at rest. Hence, it has only
potential energy, which is the same as the energy possessed by it at point A.

Position Energy of the bob

A Potential energy only

B Both potential and kinetic energy

C Kinetic energy only

D Both potential and kinetic energy

E Potential energy only