C hapter 11

WORK AND ENERGY

In the previous few chapters we have talked draws diagrams, organises her thoughts,
about ways of describing the motion of collects question papers, attends classes,
objects, the cause of motion and gravitation. discusses problems with her friends, and
Another concept that helps us understand and performs experiments. She expends a lot of
interpret many natural phenomena is ‘work’. energy on these activities. In common
Closely related to work are energy and power. parlance, she is ‘working hard’. All this ‘hard
In this chapter we shall study these concepts. work’ may involve very little ‘work’ if we go by
All living beings need food. Living beings the scientific definition of work.
have to perform several basic activities to You are working hard to push a huge rock.
survive. We call such activities ‘life processes’. Let us say the rock does not move despite all
The energy for these processes comes from the effort. You get completely exhausted.
food. We need energy for other activities like However, you have not done any work on the
playing, singing, reading, writing, thinking, rock as there is no displacement of the rock.
jumping, cycling and running. Activities that You stand still for a few minutes with a
are strenuous require more energy. heavy load on your head. You get tired. You
Animals too get engaged in activities. For have exerted yourself and have spent quite a
example, they may jump and run. They have bit of your energy. Are you doing work on the
to fight, move away from enemies, find food load? The way we understand the term ‘work’
or find a safe place to live. Also, we engage in science, work is not done.
some animals to lift weights, carry loads, pull You climb up the steps of a staircase and
carts or plough fields. All such activities reach the second floor of a building just to
require energy. see the landscape from there. You may even
Think of machines. List the machines that climb up a tall tree. If we apply the scientific
you have come across. What do they need for definition, these activities involve a lot of work.
their working? Why do some engines require In day-to-day life, we consider any useful
fuel like petrol and diesel? Why do living physical or mental labour as work. Activities
beings and machines need energy? like playing in a field, talking with friends,
humming a tune, watching a movie, attending
11.1 Work a function are sometimes not considered to
be work. What constitutes ‘work’ depends
What is work? There is a difference in the on the way we define it. We use and define
way we use the term ‘work’ in day-to-day life the term work differently in science. To
and the way we use it in science. To make understand this let us do the following
this point clear let us consider a few examples. activities:

11.1.1 N OT MUCH‘ WORK ’ IN SPITE OF Activity _____________ 11.1

WORKING HARD!
• We have discussed in the above
Kamali is preparing for examinations. She paragraphs a number of activities
spends lot of time in studies. She reads books, which we normally consider to be work
 in day-to-day life. For each of these
activities, ask the following questions
Activity _____________ 11.3
and answer them: • Think of situations when the object is
(i) What is the work being done on? not displaced in spite of a force acting
(ii) What is happening to the object? on it.
(iii) Who (what) is doing the work? • Also think of situations when an object
gets displaced in the absence of a force
acting on it.
11.1.2 SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTION OF WORK • List all the situations that you can
To understand the way we view work and think of for each.
• Discuss with your friends whether
define work from the point of view of science,
work is done in these situations.
let us consider some situations:
Push a pebble lying on a surface. The
pebble moves through a distance. You exerted
11.1.3 WORK DONE BY A CONSTANT FORCE
a force on the pebble and the pebble got How is work defined in science? T o
displaced. In this situation work is done. understand this, we shall first consider the
A girl pulls a trolley and the trolley moves case when the force is acting in the direction
through a distance. The girl has exerted a of displacement.
force on the trolley and it is displaced. Let a constant force, F act on an object.
Therefore, work is done. Let the object be displaced through a
Lift a book through a height. To do this distance, s in the direction of the force (Fig.
you must apply a force. The book rises up. 11.1). Let W be the work done. We define work
There is a force applied on the book and the to be equal to the product of the force and
book has moved. Hence, work is done. displacement.
A closer look at the above situations Work done = force × displacement
reveals that two conditions need to be W = Fs (11.1)
satisfied for work to be done: (i) a force should
act on an object, and (ii) the object must be
displaced.
If any one of the above conditions does
not exist, work is not done. This is the way
we view work in science.
A bullock is pulling a cart. The cart
moves. There is a force on the cart and the
cart has moved. Do you think that work is
done in this situation?

Activity _____________ 11.2

• Think of some situations from your Fig. 11.1
daily life involving work.
• List them. Thus, work done by a force acting on an
• Discuss with your friends whether object is equal to the magnitude of the force
work is being done in each situation. multiplied by the distance moved in the
• Try to reason out your response.
direction of the force. Work has only
• If work is done, which is the force acting
on the object?
magnitude and no direction.
• What is the object on which the work In Eq. (11.1), if F = 1 N and s = 1 m then
is done? the work done by the force will be 1 N m.
• What happens to the object on which Here the unit of work is newton metre (N m)
work is done? or joule (J). Thus 1 J is the amount of work

WORK AND ENERGY 147

done on an object when a force of 1 N
displaces it by 1 m along the line of action of
the force.
Look at Eq. (11.1) carefully. What is the
work done when the force on the object is
zero? What would be the work done when
the displacement of the object is zero? Refer
to the conditions that are to be satisfied to
say that work is done. Fig. 11.4

Consider a situation in which an object

Example 11.1 A force of 5 N is acting on
is being displaced by the action of forces and
an object. The object is displaced
we identify one of the forces, F acting opposite
through 2 m in the direction of the force to the direction of the displacement s, that
(Fig. 11.2). If the force acts on the object is, the angle between the two directions is
all through the displacement, then 180º. In such a situation, the work done by
work done is 5 N × 2 m =10 N m or the force, F is taken as negative and denoted
10 J. by the minus sign. The work done by the force
is F × (–s) or (–F × s).
It is clear from the above discussion that
the work done by a force can be either positive
or negative. To understand this, let us do the
following activity:
Fig. 11.2

Q
Activity _____________ 11.4
uestion • Lift an object up. Work is done by the
force exerted by you on the object. The
1. A force of 7 N acts on an object. object moves upwards. The force you
The displacement is, say 8 m, in exerted is in the direction of
the direction of the force displacement. However, there is the
force of gravity acting on the object.
(Fig. 11.3). Let us take it that the
• Which one of these forces is doing
force acts on the object through positive work?
the displacement. What is the • Which one is doing negative work?
work done in this case? • Give reasons.
Work done is negative when the force acts
opposite to the direction of displacement.
Work done is positive when the force is in the
Fig. 11.3 direction of displacement.

Consider another situation in which the Example 11.2 A porter lifts a luggage of
force and the displacement are in the same 15 kg from the ground and puts it on
direction: a baby pulling a toy car parallel to his head 1.5 m above the ground.
the ground, as shown in Fig. 11.4. The baby Calculate the work done by him on the
has exerted a force in the direction of luggage.
displacement of the car. In this situation, the
Solution:
work done will be equal to the product of the
force and displacement. In such situations, Mass of luggage, m = 15 kg and
the work done by the force is taken as positive. displacement, s = 1.5 m.

148 SCIENCE
 Work done, W = F × s = mg × s raised hammer falls on a nail placed on a
= 15 kg × 10 m s-2 × 1.5 m piece of wood, it drives the nail into the wood.
= 225 kg m s-2 m We have also observed children winding a toy
= 225 N m = 225 J (such as a toy car) and when the toy is placed
Work done is 225 J.

Q
on the floor, it starts moving. When a balloon
is filled with air and we press it we notice a
uestions change in its shape. As long as we press it
gently, it can come back to its original shape
1. When do we say that work is when the force is withdrawn. However, if we
done? press the balloon hard, it can even explode
2. Write an expression for the work producing a blasting sound. In all these
done when a force is acting on examples, the objects acquire, through
an object in the direction of its different means, the capability of doing work.
displacement. An object having a capability to do work is
3. Define 1 J of work. said to possess energy. The object which does
4. A pair of bullocks exerts a force the work loses energy and the object on which
of 140 N on a plough. The field the work is done gains energy.
being ploughed is 15 m long. How does an object with energy do work?
How much work is done in An object that possesses energy can exert a
ploughing the length of the field? force on another object. When this happens,
energy is transferred from the former to the
11.2 Energy latter. The second object may move as it
receives energy and therefore do some work.
Life is impossible without energy. The demand Thus, the first object had a capacity to do
for energy is ever increasing. Where do we work. This implies that any object that
get energy from? The Sun is the biggest possesses energy can do work.
natural source of energy to us. Many of our The energy possessed by an object is thus
energy sources are derived from the Sun. We measured in terms of its capacity of doing
can also get energy from the nuclei of atoms, work. The unit of energy is, therefore, the same
the interior of the earth, and the tides. Can
as that of work, that is, joule (J). 1 J is the
you think of other sources of energy?
energy required to do 1 joule of work.
Sometimes a larger unit of energy called kilo
Activity _____________ 11.5
joule (kJ) is used. 1 kJ equals 1000 J.
• A few sources of energy are listed above.
There are many other sources of 11.2.1 FORMS OF ENERGY
energy. List them.
• Discuss in small groups how certain Luckily the world we live in provides energy
sources of energy are due to the Sun. in many different forms. The various forms
• Are there sources of energy which are
include potential energy, kinetic energy, heat
not due to the Sun?
energy, chemical energy, electrical energy and
The word energy is very often used in our light energy.
daily life, but in science we give it a definite
and precise meaning. Let us consider the
following examples: when a fast moving Think it over !
cricket ball hits a stationary wicket, the wicket How do you know that some entity is a
is thrown away. Similarly, an object when form of energy? Discuss with your friends
raised to a certain height gets the capability and teachers.
to do work. You must have seen that when a

WORK AND ENERGY 149

 James Prescott
Joule was an
outstanding
British physicist.
He is best known
for his research in
electricity and
thermodynamics.
Amongst other
things, he Fig. 11.5
formulated a law
James Prescott Joule for the heating • The trolley moves forward and hits the
(1818 – 1889) effect of electric wooden block.
current. He also • Fix a stop on the table in such a
verified experimentally the law of manner that the trolley stops after
conservation of energy and discovered hitting the block. The block gets
the value of the mechanical equivalent displaced.
• Note down the displacement of the
of heat. The unit of energy and work
block. This means work is done on the
called joule, is named after him. block by the trolley as the block has
gained energy.
11.2.2 KINETIC ENERGY • From where does this energy come?
• Repeat this activity by increasing the
mass on the pan. In which case is the
Activity _____________ 11.6 displacement more?
• In which case is the work done more?
• Take a heavy ball. Drop it on a thick • In this activity, the moving trolley does
bed of sand. A wet bed of sand would
work and hence it possesses energy.
be better. Drop the ball on the sand
bed from height of about 25 cm. The A moving object can do work. An object
ball creates a depression. moving faster can do more work than an
• Repeat this activity from heights of identical object moving relatively slow. A
50 cm, 1m and 1.5 m.
moving bullet, blowing wind, a rotating wheel,
• Ensure that all the depressions are
distinctly visible. a speeding stone can do work. How does a
• Mark the depressions to indicate the bullet pierce the target? How does the wind
height from which the ball was move the blades of a windmill? Objects in
dropped. motion possess energy. We call this energy
• Compare their depths. kinetic energy.
• Which one of them is deepest? A falling coconut, a speeding car, a rolling
• Which one is shallowest? Why?
stone, a flying aircraft, flowing water, blowing
• What has caused the ball to make a
deeper dent?
wind, a running athlete etc. possess kinetic
• Discuss and analyse. energy. In short, kinetic energy is the energy
possessed by an object due to its motion. The
Activity _____________ 11.7 kinetic energy of an object increases with its
speed.
• Set up the apparatus as shown in How much energy is possessed by a
Fig. 11.5.
moving body by virtue of its motion? By
• Place a wooden block of known mass
in front of the trolley at a convenient
definition, we say that the kinetic energy of a
fixed distance. body moving with a certain velocity is equal
• Place a known mass on the pan so that to the work done on it to make it acquire that
the trolley starts moving. velocity.

150 SCIENCE
 Let us now express the kinetic energy of Solution:
an object in the form of an equation. Consider
Mass of the object, m = 15 kg, velocity
an object of mass, m moving with a uniform
velocity, u. Let it now be displaced through a of the object, v = 4 m s–1.
distance s when a constant force, F acts on it From Eq. (11.5),
in the direction of its displacement. From 1
Ek = m v2
Eq. (11.1), the work done, W is F s. The work 2
done on the object will cause a change in its
velocity. Let its velocity change from u to v. 1
= × 15 kg × 4 m s–1 × 4 m s–1
Let a be the acceleration produced. 2
In section 8.5, we studied three equations = 120 J
of motion. The relation connecting the initial The kinetic energy of the object is 120 J.
velocity (u) and final velocity (v) of an object
moving with a uniform acceleration a, and
the displacement, s is Example 11.4 What is the work to be done
v2 – u2 = 2a s (8.7) to increase the velocity of a car from
30 km h–1 to 60 km h–1 if the mass of
This gives
the car is 1500 kg?
v2 – u 2
s= (11.2)
2a Solution:
From section 9.4, we know F = m a. Thus,
Mass of the car, m =1500 kg,
using (Eq. 11.2) in Eq. (11.1), we can write
initial velocity of car, u = 30 km h–1
the work done by the force, F as
30 × 1000 m
⎛ v2 - u 2 ⎞ =
W =m a × ⎜ 60 × 60 s
⎝ 2a ⎟⎠
= 8.33 m s–1.
or
Similarly, the final velocity of the car,
W =
1
2
(
m v2 – u 2 ) (11.3) v = 60 km h–1
= 16.67 m s–1.
If the object is starting from its stationary
position, that is, u = 0, then Therefore, the initial kinetic energy of
the car,
1
W= m v2 (11.4) 1
2 Eki = m u2
2
It is clear that the work done is equal to the
change in the kinetic energy of an object. 1
= × 1500 kg × (8.33 m s–1)2
1 2
If u = 0, the work done will be m v2 .
2 = 52041.68 J.
Thus, the kinetic energy possessed by an The final kinetic energy of the car,
object of mass, m and moving with a uniform
velocity, v is 1
Ekf = × 1500 kg × (16.67 m s–1)2
1 2
Ek = m v2 (11.5)
2 = 208416.68 J.
Thus, the work done = Change in
Example 11.3 An object of mass 15 kg is kinetic energy
moving with a uniform velocity of = Ekf – Eki
4 m s–1. What is the kinetic energy
possessed by the object? = 156375 J.

WORK AND ENERGY 151

Q
uestions Activity ____________11.11
1. What is the kinetic energy of an • Lift an object through a certain height.
object? The object can now do work. It begins
2. Write an expression for the kinetic to fall when released.
energy of an object. • This implies that it has acquired some
3. The kinetic energy of an object of energy. If raised to a greater height it
mass, m moving with a velocity can do more work and hence possesses
of 5 m s–1 is 25 J. What will be its more energy.
• From where did it get the energy? Think
kinetic energy when its velocity
and discuss.
is doubled? What will be its
kinetic energy when its velocity In the above situations, the energy gets
is increased three times? stored due to the work done on the object.
The energy transferred to an object is stored
11.2.3 POTENTIAL ENERGY as potential energy if it is not used to cause a
change in the velocity or speed of the object.
Activity _____________ 11.8 You transfer energy when you stretch a
rubber band. The energy transferred to the
• Take a rubber band.
• Hold it at one end and pull from the band is its potential energy. You do work while
other. The band stretches. winding the key of a toy car. The energy
• Release the band at one of the ends. transferred to the spring inside is stored as
• What happens? potential energy. The potential energy
• The band will tend to regain its original possessed by the object is the energy present
length. Obviously the band had in it by virtue of its position or configuration.
acquired energy in its stretched
position. Activity ____________11.12
• How did it acquire energy when
stretched? • Take a bamboo stick and make a bow
as shown in Fig. 11.6.
Activity _____________ 11.9 • Place an arrow made of a light stick on
• Take a slinky as shown below. it with one end supported by the
• Ask a friend to hold one of its ends. stretched string.
You hold the other end and move away • Now stretch the string and release the
from your friend. Now you release the arrow.
slinky. • Notice the arrow flying off the bow.
Notice the change in the shape of the
bow.
• The potential energy stored in the bow
due to the change of shape is thus used
• What happened? in the for m of kinetic energy in
• How did the slinky acquire energy when throwing off the arrow.
stretched?
• Would the slinky acquire energy when
it is compressed?

Activity ____________11.10
• Take a toy car. Wind it using its key.
• Place the car on the ground.
• Did it move?
• From where did it acquire energy?
• Does the energy acquired depend on
the number of windings? Fig.11.6: An arrow and the stretched string
• How can you test this? on the bow.

152 SCIENCE
11.2.4 POTENTIAL ENERGY OF AN OBJECT
The potential energy of an object at
AT A HEIGHT

More to know
a height depends on the ground
level or the zero level you choose.
An object increases its energy when raised
An object in a given position can
through a height. This is because work is
have a certain potential energy with
done on it against gravity while it is being
respect to one level and a different
raised. The energy present in such an object value of potential energy with
is the gravitational potential energy.
respect to another level.
The gravitational potential energy of an
object at a point above the ground is defined
as the work done in raising it from the ground It is useful to note that the work done by
to that point against gravity. gravity depends on the difference in vertical
It is easy to arrive at an expression for heights of the initial and final positions of
the object and not on the path along which
the gravitational potential energy of an object
the object is moved. Fig. 11.8 shows a case
at a height.
where a block is raised from position A to B
by taking two different paths. Let the height
AB = h. In both the situations the work done
on the object is mgh.

Fig. 11.7
Fig. 11.8
Consider an object of mass, m. Let it be
raised through a height, h from the ground. Example 11.5 Find the energy possessed
A force is required to do this. The minimum by an object of mass 10 kg when it is at
force required to raise the object is equal to a height of 6 m above the ground. Given,
the weight of the object, mg. The object gains g = 9.8 m s–2.
energy equal to the work done on it. Let the
work done on the object against gravity be Solution:
W. That is,
work done, W = force × displacement Mass of the object, m = 10 kg,
= mg × h displacement (height), h = 6 m, and
= mgh acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.8 m s–2.
Since work done on the object is equal to From Eq. (11.6),
mgh, an energy equal to mgh units is gained Potential energy = mgh
= 10 kg × 9.8 m s–2 × 6 m
by the object. This is the potential energy (EP)
= 588 J.
of the object.
The potential energy is 588 J.
Ep = mgh (11.7)

WORK AND ENERGY 153

 Example 11.6 An object of mass 12 kg is 11.2.6 LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY
at a certain height above the ground. In activities 11.13 and 11.14, we learnt that
If the potential energy of the object is the form of energy can be changed from one
480 J, find the height at which the form to another. What happens to the total
object is with respect to the ground. energy of a system during or after the
Given, g = 10 m s–2. process? Whenever energy gets transformed,
the total energy remains unchanged. This is
Solution: the law of conservation of energy. According
Mass of the object, m = 12 kg, to this law, energy can only be converted from
potential energy, Ep = 480 J. one form to another; it can neither be created
or destroyed. The total energy before and after
Ep = mgh
the transformation remains the same. The
480 J = 12 kg × 10 m s–2 × h
law of conservation of energy is valid
480 J in all situations and for all kinds of
h = 120 kg m s –2 = 4 m. transformations.
Consider a simple example. Let an object
The object is at the height of 4 m.
of mass, m be made to fall freely from a
height, h. At the start, the potential energy is
11.2.5 A RE VARIOUS ENERGY FORMS mgh and kinetic energy is zero. Why is the
INTERCONVERTIBLE?
kinetic energy zero? It is zero because its
velocity is zero. The total energy of the object
Can we convert energy from one form to is thus mgh. As it falls, its potential energy
another? We find in nature a number of will change into kinetic energy. If v is the
instances of conversion of energy from one velocity of the object at a given instant, the
form to another. kinetic energy would be ½mv2. As the fall of
the object continues, the potential energy
Activity ____________11.13 would decrease while the kinetic energy would
increase. When the object is about to reach
• Sit in small groups.
• Discuss the various ways of energy
the ground, h = 0 and v will be the highest.
conversion in nature. Therefore, the kinetic energy would be the
• Discuss following questions in your largest and potential energy the least.
group: However, the sum of the potential energy and
(a) How do green plants produce food? kinetic energy of the object would be the same
(b) Where do they get their energy from? at all points. That is,
(c) Why does the air move from place potential energy + kinetic energy = constant
to place? or
(d) How are fuels, such as coal and
petroleum formed? 1
mgh + mv 2= constant. (11.7)
(e) What kinds of energy conversions 2
sustain the water cycle? The sum of kinetic energy and potential
energy of an object is its total mechanical
Activity ____________11.14 energy.
We find that during the free fall of the
• Many of the human activities and the
gadgets we use involve conversion of object, the decrease in potential energy, at
energy from one form to another. any point in its path, appears as an equal
• Make a list of such activities and amount of increase in kinetic energy. (Here
gadgets. the effect of air resistance on the motion of
• Identify in each activity/gadget the the object has been ignored.) There is thus a
kind of energy conversion that takes continual transformation of gravitational
place. potential energy into kinetic energy.

154 SCIENCE
 Activity ____________11.15 A stronger person may do certain work in
relatively less time. A more powerful vehicle
• An object of mass 20 kg is dropped from would complete a journey in a shorter time
a height of 4 m. Fill in the blanks in than a less powerful one. We talk of the power
the following table by computing the of machines like motorbikes and motorcars.
potential energy and kinetic energy in
The speed with which these vehicles change
each case.
energy or do work is a basis for their
Height at Potential Kinetic Ep + Ek classification. Power measures the speed of
which object energy energy work done, that is, how fast or slow work is
is located (Ep= mgh) (Ek = mv2/2) done. Power is defined as the rate of doing
work or the rate of transfer of energy. If an
m J J J
agent does a work W in time t, then power is
4 given by:
3 Power = work/time
2
W
1 or P= (11.8)
t
Just above
the ground
The unit of power is watt [in honour of
James Watt (1736 – 1819)] having the symbol
• For simplifying the calculations, take W. 1 watt is the power of an agent, which
the value of g as 10 m s–2. does work at the rate of 1 joule per second.
We can also say that power is 1 W when the
Think it over ! rate of consumption of energy is 1 J s–1.
What would have happened if nature had 1 watt = 1 joule/second or 1 W = 1 J s–1.
not allowed the transformation of energy? We express larger rates of energy transfer in
There is a view that life could not have kilowatts (kW).
been possible without transformation of 1 kilowatt = 1000 watts
energy. Do you agree with this? 1 kW = 1000 W
1 kW = 1000 J s–1.
The power of an agent may vary with time.
11.3 Rate of Doing Work This means that the agent may be doing work
Do all of us work at the same rate? Do at different rates at different intervals of time.
machines consume or transfer energy at the Therefore the concept of average power is
same rate? Agents that transfer energy do useful. We obtain average power by dividing
work at different rates. Let us understand this the total energy consumed by the total time
from the following activity: taken.

Activity ____________11.16 Example 11.7 Two girls, each of weight

• Consider two children, say A and B. 400 N climb up a rope through a height
Let us say they weigh the same. Both of 8 m. We name one of the girls A and
start climbing up a rope separately. the other B. Girl A takes 20 s while B
Both reach a height of 8 m. Let us say
A takes 15 s while B takes 20 s to takes 50 s to accomplish this task.
accomplish the task. What is the power expended by
• What is the work done by each? each girl?
• The work done is the same. However,
A has taken less time than B to do Solution:
the work. (i) Power expended by girl A:
• Who has done more work in a given
time, say in 1 s? Weight of the girl, mg = 400 N

WORK AND ENERGY 155

 Q
Displacement (height), h = 8 m
Time taken, t = 20 s
uestions
From Eq. (11.8), 1. What is power?
2. Define 1 watt of power.
Power, P = Work done/time taken 3. A lamp consumes 1000 J of
mgh electrical energy in 10 s. What is
= its power?
t
4. Define average power.
400 N × 8 m
=
20 s 11.3.1 COMMERCIAL UNIT OF ENERGY
= 160 W.
The unit joule is too small and hence is
(ii) Power expended by girl B: inconvenient to express large quantities of
Weight of the girl, mg = 400 N energy. We use a bigger unit of energy called
Displacement (height), h = 8 m kilowatt hour (kW h).
Time taken, t = 50 s What is 1 kW h? Let us say we have a
mgh machine that uses 1000 J of energy every
Power, P = second. If this machine is used continuously
t
for one hour, it will consume 1 kW h of energy.
400 N × 8 m Thus, 1 kW h is the energy used in one hour
=
50 s at the rate of 1000 J s–1 (or 1 kW).
1 kW h = 1 kW ×1 h
= 64 W. = 1000 W × 3600 s
Power expended by girl A is 160 W. = 3600000 J
Power expended by girl B is 64 W. 1 kW h = 3.6 × 106 J.
The energy used in households, industries
and commercial establishments are usually
Example 11.8 A boy of mass 50 kg runs expressed in kilowatt hour. For example,
up a staircase of 45 steps in 9 s. If the electrical energy used during a month is
height of each step is 15 cm, find his expressed in terms of ‘units’. Here, 1 ‘unit’
power. Take g = 10 m s–2. means 1 kilowatt hour.
Solution:
Example 11.9 An electric bulb of 60 W is
Weight of the boy, used for 6 h per day. Calculate the
mg = 50 kg × 10 m s–2 = 500 N ‘units’ of energy consumed in one day
Height of the staircase, by the bulb.
h = 45 × 15/100 m = 6.75 m
Time taken to climb, t = 9 s Solution:
From Eq. (11.8),
power, P = Work done/time taken Power of electric bulb = 60 W
= 0.06 kW.
mgh
= Time used, t = 6 h
t Energy = power × time taken
500 N × 6.75 m = 0.06 kW × 6 h
= 9s = 0.36 kW h
= 0.36 ‘units’.
= 375 W.
The energy consumed by the bulb is
Power is 375 W. 0.36 ‘units’.

156 SCIENCE
 • How many ‘units’ are used during
Activity ____________11.17 night?
• Take a close look at the electric meter • Do this activity for about a week.
installed in your house. Observe its • Tabulate your observations.
features closely. • Draw inferences from the data.
• Take the readings of the meter each • Compare your observations with
day at 6.30 am and 6.30 pm. the details given in the monthly
• How many ‘units’ are consumed during electricity bill.
day time?

What
you have
learnt
• Work done on an object is defined as the magnitude of the
force multiplied by the distance moved by the object in the
direction of the applied force. The unit of work is joule:
1 joule = 1 newton × 1 metre.
• Work done on an object by a force would be zero if the
displacement of the object is zero.
• An object having capability to do work is said to possess energy.
Energy has the same unit as that of work.
• An object in motion possesses what is known as the kinetic
energy of the object. An object of mass, m moving with velocity
1 2
v has a kinetic energy of 2 mv .

• The energy possessed by a body due to its change in position

or shape is called the potential energy. The gravitational
potential energy of an object of mass, m raised through a height,
h from the earth’s surface is given by m g h.
• According to the law of conservation of energy, energy can only
be transformed from one form to another; it can neither be
created nor destroyed. The total energy before and after the
transformation always remains constant.
• Energy exists in nature in several forms such as kinetic energy,
potential energy, heat energy, chemical energy etc. The sum of
the kinetic and potential energies of an object is called its
mechanical energy.
• Power is defined as the rate of doing work. The SI unit of power
is watt. 1 W = 1 J/s.
• The energy used in one hour at the rate of 1kW is called 1 kW h.

WORK AND ENERGY 157

 Exercises
1. Look at the activities listed below. Reason out whether or not
work is done in the light of your understanding of the term
‘work’.
• Suma is swimming in a pond.
• A donkey is carrying a load on its back.
• A wind-mill is lifting water from a well.
• A green plant is carrying out photosynthesis.
• An engine is pulling a train.
• Food grains are getting dried in the sun.
• A sailboat is moving due to wind energy.
2. An object thrown at a certain angle to the ground moves in a
curved path and falls back to the ground. The initial and the
final points of the path of the object lie on the same horizontal
line. What is the work done by the force of gravity on the object?
3. A battery lights a bulb. Describe the energy changes involved
in the process.
4. Certain force acting on a 20 kg mass changes its velocity from
5 m s–1 to 2 m s–1. Calculate the work done by the force.
5. A mass of 10 kg is at a point A on a table. It is moved to a point
B. If the line joining A and B is horizontal, what is the work
done on the object by the gravitational force? Explain your
answer.
6. The potential energy of a freely falling object decreases
progressively. Does this violate the law of conservation of
energy? Why?
7. What are the various energy transformations that occur when
you are riding a bicycle?
8. Does the transfer of energy take place when you push a huge
rock with all your might and fail to move it? Where is the
energy you spend going?
9. A certain household has consumed 250 units of energy during
a month. How much energy is this in joules?
10. An object of mass 40 kg is raised to a height of 5 m above the
ground. What is its potential energy? If the object is allowed to
fall, find its kinetic energy when it is half-way down.
11. What is the work done by the force of gravity on a satellite
moving round the earth? Justify your answer.
12. Can there be displacement of an object in the absence of any
force acting on it? Think. Discuss this question with your friends
and teacher.

158 SCIENCE
 13. A person holds a bundle of hay over his head for 30 minutes
and gets tired. Has he done some work or not? Justify your
answer.
14. An electric heater is rated 1500 W. How much energy does it
use in 10 hours?
15. Illustrate the law of conservation of energy by discussing the
energy changes which occur when we draw a pendulum bob to
one side and allow it to oscillate. Why does the bob eventually
come to rest? What happens to its energy eventually? Is it a
violation of the law of conservation of energy?
16. An object of mass, m is moving with a constant velocity, v.
How much work should be done on the object in order to bring
the object to rest?
17. Calculate the work required to be done to stop a car of 1500 kg
moving at a velocity of 60 km/h?
18. In each of the following a force, F is acting on an object of
mass, m. The direction of displacement is from west to east
shown by the longer arrow. Observe the diagrams carefully
and state whether the work done by the force is negative,
positive or zero.

19. Soni says that the acceleration in an object could be zero even
when several forces are acting on it. Do you agree with her?
Why?
20. Find the energy in kW h consumed in 10 hours by four devices
of power 500 W each.
21. A freely falling object eventually stops on reaching the ground.
What happenes to its kinetic energy?

WORK AND ENERGY 159