Meaning, Definition, Differences and FAQs of Work, Power and Energy

Work

When a force is applied to a particular object, causing it to move, it is assumed that the work has been done on the given object.

Work is made up of three main components: displacement, force, and cause. There must be a displacement, and the force must cause the displacement for a force to get through and get the work done on an object.

Let’s know more about work before delving into Work, Energy and Power differences.

There are a few exceptional examples of work that we can experience in our day-to-day life – when we see a horse pulling a plough through the field or a father trying to push a grocery cart to reach the grocery store. We can even see it when a freshman is lifting a backpack loaded with books upon his shoulder or even the weightlifters lifting a dumbbell over his head, etc.

In all the cases mentioned here, a force is exerted upon a particular object that causes the object to be displaced from its original position.

When a force produces motion, it is said to be doing work. Work is done, for example, when a man climbs a mountain because he is moving against gravity. As a result, work is determined by two factors. They are as follows:

The magnitude of applied force
The force applied to the body causes it to move in a certain direction.

As a result, work is defined as the product of a body’s displacement and force, along with the direction in which the force is applied. The SI unit of work is the Joule, and it is referred to as a scalar quantity. As a result, the equation is:

Work = F * S

In such a case, if a body is displaced by S while a Force F acts on it,

Work W = FS Cos (angle between the displacement and force)

Keep in mind that force is said to work when it causes an object to move. For example, if a man tries to move a wall but it does not move, the man’s work is zero because no displacement is produced. However, he loses energy as a result of stretching his muscles while attempting to push the wall.

As a result, no work needs to be done whenever a force is applied to an object. Work is only completed when the applied force can move or change the direction of the object.

Energy

The capacity to work is defined as energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another. Energy is measured in Joules, which is the same unit as Work. There are various types of energy because they can be found in many things.

There are two types of energy: kinetic and potential. Kinetic energy is the energy that is in motion. The amount of work done is used to calculate potential energy, the amount of energy stored in an object.

Potential energy

Potential energy is the energy stored in a system and is determined by the relative positions of various parts of the system. When a spring is compressed or stretched, it has more potential energy. A steel ball has more potential energy when raised above the ground than when it is dropped to the ground.

It is capable of doing more work in the raised position. Potential energy is a property of a system, not an individual body or particle; for example, as the Earth and the raised ball are separated, the system has more potential energy.

Kinetic energy

Kinetic energy is the type of energy that an object or particle has due to its movement. When work is done on an object by applying a net force, the object accelerates and gains kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is a property of a moving object or particle that is determined by its mass and motion.

Translation (movement along a path from one location to another), rotation around an axis, vibration, or any combination of motions are possible.

The formula of kinetic energy is – 1/2mv2

As a result of the above formula, we can state:

When a body’s mass is doubled, its kinetic energy is doubled as well.
When a body’s mass is halved, its kinetic energy is also halved.
When the velocity of a mass doubles, the kinetic energy of the mass increases by four times.

Power

Work power, or simply power, is a physical concept that can have a variety of meanings depending on the context and information available. The rate at which work is completed can be defined as power. The amount of energy consumed per unit of time is referred to as power. It exists in a scalar quantity because it has no direction.

The rate at which work is completed is referred to as power. It’s all about the work-to-time ratio. The following equation is used to calculate it mathematically.

power = work/time

p = W/t

The Watt is the standard metric unit of power. A unit of power is equal to a unit of work divided by a unit of time, as implied by the equation for power. As a result, a Watt is equal to a Joule/second. Horsepowerpower factor is the horsepower that is sometimes used to describe the power delivered by a machine for historical reasons. A horsepower is approximately 750 Watts.

Work, energy and power differences

Work	Power
Work is defined as the process of transferring energy to an object’s motion through the application of force. The product of displacement and force is commonly used to represent it.	The amount of energy transferred in a unit of time is referred to as power.
The SI unit of work is Joule (J)	The SI unit of power is Watt (W)
The formula for calculating the force is Work = Force * Displacement.	Power is calculated using the formula Power = Work/Time.
Work can be done in kWh, MWh, GWh, and volts, among other units (eV)	Energy can be measured in GW, MW, and kW units.
Work is not dependent on the passage of time.	Time is a power factor.

Questions on work power and energy

What’s the connection between work energy and power?

Ans- Energy is the capacity to do work; it is the influence of an object to exert a force onto an object to displace it, thus changing its position in space.

Work is the action of displacing an object by applying force on it. Doing so will actualise a change in its position and, well, manifest that phenomenon.

Power is the rate of doing work or the amount of work done per unit time.

From these definitions, we can say that energy is required to perform work, power is the amount of work done in a given unit of time, and work is an action for causing a change in an object’s position.

Define Power in Physics.

Ans- The rate at which work is completed per unit of time is known as power. Watt (W) is the SI unit of power (calculated as joules per second). Previously, power was also used to describe the activity. It’s a number with a scalar value.

P = W/t is the formula for calculating power. The product of a motor’s torque and its output power is referred to as the motor’s output power. The product of the traction force on the motor’s wheel and its velocity is the power required to move it.

Conclusion

Therefore, we hope you can now distinguish between work, power and energy. Read this article more than once to adequately grasp the concepts so that you can solve questions related to this topic easily.

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