Work and Kinetic Energy

Let us consider a moving block on a

frictionless surface

The block speeds up!

Let us consider a moving block on a

frictionless surface

The block slows down!

Let us consider a moving block on a

frictionless surface

The blocks speed remains the

same!

Consider now a constant net force

on a moving body

What new physical insight can we

extract here?

Work-Kinetic Energy
Theorem

Check:

Unit Consistency:
[Kinetic Energy] = kg m2/s2 = Nm = J

The Work-Kinetic Energy Theorem

(or just the Work-Energy Theorem)
Gaspard de Coriolis first stated this
in 1829 while Lord Kelvin is given
credit for coining the term Kinetic
Energy.

Example
Recall JPJ and his tractor. Suppose the
sled has an initial speed of 2.0
m/s. What is the speed of the sled
after it moves 20 m?
4.2 m/s
Note that speed increases
since WTOT > 0.

Example
The 200-kg steel hammerhead of a pile
driver is lifted 3.00 m above the top of a
vertical I-beam being driven into the
ground. The hammerhead is then
dropped, driving the I-beam 7.4 cm
deeper into the ground. The vertical
guide rails exert a constant 60-N friction
force on the hammerhead. Find (a) the
speed of the hammerhead just as it hits
the I-beam and (b) the average force
the hammerhead exerts on the I-beam.

Example

(a) 7.55 m/s

(b) 79,000 N

Notes
Recall that WTOT = K2 K1 so if K1 = 0, (that
is, the velocity v1 = 0), then WTOT = K2.
In other words, kinetic energy is equal to
the work done to a particle in order to
accelerate it from rest to its present
speed v2.
Similarly, the kinetic energy of a particle
is also equal to the work that a particle
can do in bringing it to rest.

Example
William Crush in 1896 allowed two
locomotives at rest at opposite ends of a
6.4-km track to crash head-on at full speed
in front of 30,000 spectators. Assuming that
each locomotive weighed 1.2 x 106 N and
its acceleration was a constant 0.26 m/s2,
what was the total kinetic energy of the two
locomotives just before the collision?
2.0 x 108 J (like an exploding bomb)

The William Crush Train Crash

Incident (September 15, 1896)

Example - Try And Execute In Your

Head (T.A.E. In Your Head)
During a storm, a crate is sliding across a
surface through a displacement
while a steady wind pushes against the
crate with a force
If the crate has a kinetic energy of 10 J
at the beginning of the displacement,
what is its kinetic energy at the end?

Answer
4.0 J (could be done mentally)
The final kinetic energy is smaller
which means that the crate has
slowed down.

W.O.W. (Words Of Wisdom) Before 1st

LE
Dont forget your ID and scientific
calculator for our 1st Long Exam.
Read our textbook!
While reviewing, take note of the
OBJECTIVES found in the course syllabus.
Answer the SAMPLE EXAM.
Have fun and aim for a 100% not just
for the grades but rather for the sake of
learning physics itself. Think of it as
your tribute to the great physicists that
have gone before us. =)

Problem
A kwitis (mass 2m) and a baby rocket
(mass m) hold a race on a horizontal
line in outer space. Each firework has an
identical fuse mechanism so the same
constant force F acts on each explosive.
The two start from rest and cross the
finish line a distance s away. Which
firework crosses the finish line with a
greater kinetic energy? Justify your
answer with all youve got!!!
Kindly submit Problem No. 1