Chapter 6: Work
In this chapter we will talk about the concept of work. The concept of work has a very special meaning to physicists and differs from the colloquial usage in a number of ways. Work is related to the displacement through which the force acts. We will consider forces and displacement in the same direction and also consider what happens when the force and displacement are not in the same direction.
Table of Contents
Illustrations
- Illustration 6.1: Dot Products.
- Illustration 6.2: Constant Forces and Friction.
- Illustration 6.3: Force and Displacement.
- Illustration 6.4: Springs.
- Illustration 6.5: Circular Motion.
Explorations
- Exploration 6.1: An Operational Definition of Work.
- Exploration 6.2: The Two-Block Push.
- Exploration 6.3: The Gravitational Force and Work.
- Exploration 6.4: Change the Direction of the Force Applied.
- Exploration 6.5: Circular Motion and Work.
- Exploration 6.6: Forces, Path Integrals, and Work.
Problems
- Problem 6.1: A hammer hits a nail.
- Problem 6.2: A brick falls on a nail.
- Problem 6.3: A block is pushed.
- Problem 6.4: A bowling ball is lifted to a shelf.
- Problem 6.5: Path dependence of forces and work.
- Problem 6.6: A ball in a bowl.
- Problem 6.7: A 12-kg box is pushed at an angle of 60° from the vertical.
- Problem 6.8: A 12-kg box slides up a 26.56° frictionless ramp.
- Problem 6.9: A 12-kg box slides down a rough ramp.
- Problem 6.10: A mass is lifted by a string.
- Problem 6.11: A modified Atwood's machine.
- Problem 6.12: An oscillating mass on a spring.
- Problem 6.13: A compressed spring is stretched.
- Problem 6.14: An oscillating mass on a spring.
