9.2. Math of Force, Energy, and Work http://www.ck12.org
9.2 Math of Force, Energy, and Work
When an object moves in the direction of an applied force, we say that the force doesworkon the object. Note that
the force may be slowing the object down, speeding it up, maintaining its velocity — any number of things. In all
cases, the net work done is given by this formula:
W=~F·~d=~F·∆~x [1] Work is the dot product of force and displacement.In other words, if an object has traveled a distancedunder force~F, the work done on it will equal todmultiplied by
the component of~Falong the object’s path. Consider the following example of a block moving horizontally with a
force applied at some angle:
Here the net work done on the object by the force will beF dcosθ.