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Work
| Purpose: |
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Calculate work needed to push a 5 kg cart over
different distances with = 0.5.
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| Material(s): |
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5 kg cart
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| Background
info: |
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W = F||d
Fg = mg (level ground)
FN = Fg = mg
Ff = FN = mg
= 0.5 |
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Since FN equals Fg
we can ignore the vertical forces. Work equals force applied parallel to distance,
therefore, pushing the cart at constant acceleration, Ff must equal Fpush.
So we arrive at the formulaWork = Ffd = FNd = mgd |
Thus,
0.5 X 5 kg X 9.8 m/s2 X 10 m = 245 J |
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| The more force you apply and
further you travel, more work is done. Here in the experiment, 123 J of energy
pushes the cart 5 m of distance. 245 pushes the cart to a distance of 10 m.
And if you apply 1999 J of energy, it spins out of control and runs into someone.
So where do we get so much energy? |