C hapter 10

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
10.1 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:

10.1.1 NOT MUCH‘WORK’ IN SPITE OF Activity _____________ 10.1

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

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 in day-to-day life. For each of these
activities, ask the following questions
Activity _____________ 10.3
and answer them: • Think of situations when the object
(i) What is the work being done on? is not displaced in spite of a force
(ii) What is happening to the object? acting 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.
10.1.2 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
10.1.3 W ORK DONE BY A CONSTANT
a force on the pebble and the pebble got FORCE
displaced. In this situation work is done.
How is work defined in science? T o
A girl pulls a trolley and the trolley moves
understand this, we shall first consider the
through a distance. The girl has exerted a
case when the force is acting in the direction
force on the trolley and it is displaced.
of displacement.
Therefore, work is done.
Let a constant force, F act on an object.
Lift a book through a height. To do this
Let the object be displaced through a
you must apply a force. The book rises up.
distance, s in the direction of the force (Fig.
There is a force applied on the book and the
10.1). Let W be the work done. We define work
book has moved. Hence, work is done.
to be equal to the product of the force and
A closer look at the above situations
displacement.
reveals that two conditions need to be
Work done = force × displacement
satisfied for work to be done: (i) a force should
W = Fs (10.1)
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 _____________ 10.2

• Think of some situations from your Fig. 10.1
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. (10.1), 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

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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. (10.1) 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 Fig. 10.4
say that work is done.
Consider a situation in which an object is
moving with a uniform velocity along a
Example 10.1 A force of 5 N is acting on particular direction. Now a retarding force, F,
an object. The object is displaced is applied in the opposite direction. That is,
through 2 m in the direction of the force the angle between the two directions is 180º.
(Fig. 10.2). If the force acts on the object Let the object stop after a displacement s. In
all through the displacement, then work such a situation, the work done by the force,
done is 5 N × 2 m =10 N m or 10 J. F is taken as negative and denoted 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
Fig. 10.2
following activity:

Activity _____________ 10.4

uestion

Q
• Lift an object up. Work is done by the
1. A force of 7 N acts on an object. force exerted by you on the object. The
The displacement is, say 8 m, in object moves upwards. The force you
exerted is in the direction of
the direction of the force
displacement. However, there is the
(Fig. 10.3). Let us take it that the force of gravity acting on the object.
force acts on the object through • Which one of these forces is doing
the displacement. What is the positive work?
work done in this case? • Which one is doing negative work?
• 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. 10.3
direction of displacement.

Example 10.2 A porter lifts a luggage of

Consider another situation in which the
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. 10.4. 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.

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 Work done, W = F × s = mg × s raised hammer falls on a nail placed on a piece
= 15 kg × 10 m s-2 × 1.5 m of wood, it drives the nail into the wood. We
= 225 kg m s-2 m 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. on the floor, it starts moving. When a balloon
is filled with air and we press it we notice a

Q
change in its shape. As long as we press it
uestions 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
10.2 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 _____________ 10.5
joule (kJ) is used. 1 kJ equals 1000 J.
• A few sources of energy are listed
above. There are many other sources 10.2.1 FORMS OF ENERGY
of energy. List them.
• Discuss in small groups how certain Luckily the world we live in provides energy in
sources of energy are due to the Sun. many different forms. The various forms
• Are there sources of energy which are
include mechanical energy (potential energy
not due to the Sun?
+ kinetic energy), heat energy, chemical
The word energy is very often used in our energy, electrical energy and 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

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 James Prescott
Joule was an
outstanding
British physicist.
He is best known
for his research in
electricity and
thermodynamics.
Amongst other
things, he Fig. 10.5
formulated a law
James Prescott Joule for the heating • The trolley moves forward and hits the
(1818 – 1889) ef fect 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.
10.2.2 KINETIC ENERGY • From where does this energy come?
• Repeat this activity by increasing the
mass on the pan. In which case is the
Activity _____________ 10.6 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 _____________ 10.7 kinetic energy of an object increases with its
speed.
• Set up the apparatus as shown in How much energy is possessed by a
Fig. 10.5.
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 to
• Place a known mass on the pan so the work done on it to make it acquire
that the trolley starts moving. that velocity.

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 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. (10.5),
in the direction of its displacement. From 1
Ek = m v2
Eq. (10.1), 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
We studied three equations of motion. The = 120 J
relation connecting the initial velocity (u) The kinetic energy of the object is 120 J.
and final velocity (v) of an object moving
with a uniform acceleration a, and the
displacement, s is Example 10.4 What is the work to be done
v2 – u2 = 2a s 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= (10.2)
2a Solution:
From section 9.4, we know F = m a. Thus,
Mass of the car, m =1500 kg,
using (Eq. 10.2) in Eq. (10.1), we can write the
initial velocity of car, u = 30 km h–1
work done by the force, F as
30 × 1000 m
v2 - u 2 =
W =m a × 60 × 60 s
2a
= 25/3 m s–1.
or
Similarly, the final velocity of the car,
1
(
W = m v2 – u 2
2
) (10.3) v = 60 km h–1
= 50/3 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 (10.4) 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 × (25/3 m s–1)2
1 2
If u = 0, the work done will be m v2 .
2 = 156250/3 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 × (50/3 m s–1)2
1 2
Ek = m v2 (10.5)
2 = 625000/3 J.
Thus, the work done = Change in
Example 10.3 An object of mass 15 kg is kinetic energy
moving with a uniform velocity of 4 = Ekf – Eki
m s –1 . What is the kinetic energy
possessed by the object? = 156250 J.

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Q
uestions Activity ___________ 10.11
1. What is the kinetic energy of an • Lift an object through a certain
object? height. The object can now do work.
2. Write an expression for the kinetic It begins 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
10.2.3 POTENTIAL ENERGY as potential energy if it is not used to cause a
change in the velocity or speed of the object.
Activity _____________ 10.8 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 ___________ 10.12
• How did it acquire energy when
stretched? • Take a bamboo stick and make a bow
as shown in Fig. 10.6.
Activity _____________ 10.9 • 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 ___________ 10.10

• 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.10.6: An arrow and the stretched string
• How can you test this? on the bow.

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10.2.4 POTENTIAL ENERGY OF AN OBJECT The potential energy of an object at

More to know
AT A HEIGHT a height depends on the ground level
or the zero level you choose. An
An object increases its energy when raised
object in a given position can have a
through a height. This is because work is
certain potential energy with respect
done on it against gravity while it is being
to one level and a different value of
raised. The energy present in such an object potential energy with respect to
is the gravitational potential energy.
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. 10.8 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. 10.7
Fig. 10.8
Consider an object of mass, m. Let it be
raised through a height, h from the ground. Example 10.5 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. (10.6),
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 (10.6)

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 Example 10.6 An object of mass 12 kg is 10.2.6 LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY
at a certain height above the ground. In activities 10.13 and 10.14, 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 process?
Given, g = 10 m s–2.
Whenever energy gets transformed, the total
energy remains unchanged. This is the law of
Solution:
conservation of energy. According to this law,
Mass of the object, m = 12 kg, energy can only be converted from one form
potential energy, Ep = 480 J. to another; it can neither be created or
Ep = mgh destroyed. The total energy before and after
480 J = 12 kg × 10 m s–2 × h the transformation remains the same. The law
480 J of conservation of energy is valid in
h = 120 kg m s –2 = 4 m. all situations and for all kinds of
transformations.
The object is at the height of 4 m. Consider a simple example. Let an object
of mass, m be made to fall freely from a height,
10.2.5 A RE VARIOUS ENERGY FORMS h. At the start, the potential energy is mgh and
kinetic energy is zero. Why is the kinetic
INTERCONVERTIBLE? energy zero? It is zero because its velocity is
Can we convert energy from one form to zero. The total energy of the object is thus mgh.
another? We find in nature a number of As it falls, its potential energy will change into
instances of conversion of energy from one kinetic energy. If v is the velocity of the object
form to another. at a given instant, the kinetic energy would be
½mv2. As the fall of the object continues, the
Activity ___________ 10.13 potential energy would decrease while the
kinetic energy would increase. When the object
• Sit in small groups.
• Discuss the various ways of energy is about to reach the ground, h = 0 and v will
conversion in nature. be the highest. Therefore, the kinetic energy
• Discuss following questions in your would be the largest and potential energy the
group: least. However, the sum of the potential energy
(a) How do green plants produce food? and kinetic energy of the object would be the
(b) Where do they get their energy from? same at all points. That is,
(c) Why does the air move from place
to place?
potential energy + kinetic energy = constant
(d) How are fuels, such as coal and or
petroleum formed? 1
(e) What kinds of energy conversions mgh + mv 2= constant. (10.7)
2
sustain the water cycle?
The sum of kinetic energy and potential energy
Activity ___________ 10.14 of an object is its total mechanical energy.
We find that during the free fall of the object,
• Many of the human activities and the the decrease in potential energy, at any point
gadgets we use involve conversion of in its path, appears as an equal amount of
energy from one form to another. increase in kinetic energy. (Here the effect of
• Make a list of such activities and
air resistance on the motion of the object has
gadgets.
• Identify in each activity/gadget the been ignored.) There is thus a continual
kind of energy conversion that takes transformation of gravitational potential
place. energy into kinetic energy.

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 Activity ___________ 10.15 A stronger person may do certain work in
relatively less time. A more powerful vehicle
• An object of mass 20 kg is dropped would complete a journey in a shorter time
from a height of 4 m. Fill in the blanks than a less powerful one. We talk of the power
in the following table by computing of machines like motorbikes and motorcars.
the potential energy and kinetic
The speed with which these vehicles change
energy in 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= (10.8)
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.
10.3 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 ___________ 10.16 Example 10.7 Two girls, each of weight 400
• Consider two children, say A and B. N climb up a rope through a height of 8
Let us say they weigh the same. Both m. We name one of the girls A and the
start climbing up a rope separately. other B. Girl A takes 20 s while B takes
Both reach a height of 8 m. Let us say
A takes 15 s while B takes 20 s to 50 s to accomplish this task. What is the
accomplish the task. power expended by each girl?
• What is the work done by each?
Solution:
• The work done is the same. However,
A has taken less time than B to do (i) Power expended by girl A:
the work. Weight of the girl, mg = 400 N
• Who has done more work in a given
time, say in 1 s? Displacement (height), h = 8 m

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 Time taken, t = 20 s power, P = Work done/time taken
From Eq. (10.8),
mgh
Power, P = Work done/time taken =
t
mgh
= 500 N × 6.75 m
t = 9s
400 N × 8 m = 375 W.
=
20 s
Power is 375 W.
= 160 W.

Q
(ii) Power expended by girl B:
Weight of the girl, mg = 400 N
uestions
Displacement (height), h = 8 m 1. What is power?
Time taken, t = 50 s 2. Define 1 watt of power.
3. A lamp consumes 1000 J of
mgh
Power, P = electrical energy in 10 s. What is
t its power?
400 N × 8 m 4. Define average power.
=
50 s

= 64 W. Activity ___________ 10.17

Power expended by girl A is 160 W. • Take a close look at the electric meter
Power expended by girl B is 64 W. installed in your house. Observe its
features closely.
• Take the readings of the meter each
day at 6.30 am and 6.30 pm.
Example 10.8 A boy of mass 50 kg runs • Do this activity for about a week.
up a staircase of 45 steps in 9 s. If the • How many ‘units’ are consumed
height of each step is 15 cm, find his during day time?
power. Take g = 10 m s–2. • How many ‘units’ are used during night?
• Tabulate your observations.
Solution: • Draw inferences from the data.
• Compare your observations with
Weight of the boy, the details given in the monthly
mg = 50 kg × 10 m s–2 = 500 N electricity bill (One can also estimate
Height of the staircase, the electricity to be consumed by
h = 45 × 15/100 m = 6.75 m specific appliances by tabulating their
Time taken to climb, t = 9 s known wattages and hours of
From Eq. (10.8), operation).

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 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
1 2
velocity 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.

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.

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 • 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.
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

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 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 joules 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?

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