Q&A for How to Calculate Work

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How do I find the work done against gravitational force?

Community Answer

Place a 20 N block at rest at the bottom of a frictionless incline. Work must be done against gravity to the top of the incline. A=4.0 m, b=3 m.

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Question

4 kg object moves a distance of 7.9 m under the action of a constant force of 5.6 N. How much work is done on the object?

Community Answer

In physics, work = force x distance, so 5.6 N times 7.9 m = 44.24 joules.

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Question

How do I calculate the work done if the body of mass 80kg is lifted vertically through a distance of 5.0 m?

Community Answer

Work is equal to the force into displacement, i.e. here the work would be 40 joules.

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Question

Calculate the work done by a 2.0-N force (directed at a 30° angle to the vertical) to move a 500 gram box a horizontal distance of 400 cm across a rough floor at a constant speed of 0.5 m/s.

Cabbache

Community Answer

Work done is force x distance, irrelevant of mass or speed. We know the distance is 4m, so all we need is the force. Find the horizontal component using trigonometry, it is 2cos(30 degrees) = sqrt(3) newtons. So the answer is sqrt(3) x 4 = 6.92 joules. You might ask why we didn't just put the 2 newtons in the equation W=Fs. This is simply because the box was not moving in the direction of that force.

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A shopper does 110.0 J of work in pushing a shopping cart by a force of 33.0N to a distance of 8.25m. At what angle is the force applied with respect to the ground?

Cabbache

Community Answer

66.17 degrees. You can find the horizontal component by doing 110 / 8.25 = 40/3 Newtons. Then by trigonometry you can calculate the angle of elevation from the ground.

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How do I calculate work if only weight and displacement are given?

Community Answer

Weight is the same as force, so all you need to do is multiply weight by displacement.

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