Work Done Is Force Times Distance

Lab Brief #1

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

Speed isn't the same as force. Don't mix them up.

What you'll learn

Work is done when a force moves its point of application along its own direction: W = Fs, in joules. Hold a heavy bag still and you do no work in the physics sense, however tired your arm gets, because nothing moves.

Key words

work
Energy transferred when a force moves an object along its line of action, W = Fs.
joule
The SI unit of energy: one newton acting through one metre.

Make a hypothesis first

Guess: where does the energy go?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

newton meter
box with weights
tape measure
carpet tile

⚠️ Safety first

Pull steadily rather than jerking, and keep the path clear.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "work" and "joule" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Pull a loaded box a measured 2 m along the floor with a newton meter held horizontally, keeping the reading steady. Calculate the work done. Repeat on carpet and on tile and account for the difference.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

A force of 25 N moves an object 4 m in the direction of the force. Work done is:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

Holding a heavy bag stationary, the work done on the bag is:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔥 A bolt of lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Kinetic Energy Grows With the Square of Speed All lessons

🎯

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This is why airplanes can fly and why rockets reach space.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): This week, find one thing in your house that turns one kind of energy into another.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “Show me something at home that uses this kind of energy.”

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