What is the formula for work?

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Multiple Choice

What is the formula for work?

Work is the transfer of energy that occurs when a force moves an object through a distance. For a constant force, the amount of work depends on how much of that force acts in the direction of the motion. If the force is exactly in line with the movement, the work is simply the product of the force and the distance: W = F × d. More generally, you include the angle between the force and the displacement: W = F d cos(theta). In SI units, this comes out in joules (newton-meters). If the force is perpendicular to the motion, theta is 90 degrees and cos(theta) is zero, so no work is done. The other expressions—distance times area, force divided by distance, or adding force and distance—don’t reflect how work is defined or its units, so they don’t represent work.

Work is the transfer of energy that occurs when a force moves an object through a distance. For a constant force, the amount of work depends on how much of that force acts in the direction of the motion. If the force is exactly in line with the movement, the work is simply the product of the force and the distance: W = F × d. More generally, you include the angle between the force and the displacement: W = F d cos(theta). In SI units, this comes out in joules (newton-meters). If the force is perpendicular to the motion, theta is 90 degrees and cos(theta) is zero, so no work is done. The other expressions—distance times area, force divided by distance, or adding force and distance—don’t reflect how work is defined or its units, so they don’t represent work.

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