Development of the Work Energy Theorem in Mechanics

George Kapp 2002

Table of Contents
Page 1. Introduction......................................................................2 2. Prolog, In search of Vis Visa..............................................3 3. or!................................................................................." ". or! #one b$ %et &orce, K'..............................................( ). Interlude. *oo!ing at the +ig Picture................................., -. Gra.itational Potential 'nerg$............................................/ (. 'lastic Potential 'nerg$....................................................11 ,. or! 0 'nerg$ Theore1....................................................12 /. Conser.ation of 'nerg$.....................................................13 10. 2pplication '3a1ple.........................................................1"

G.Kapp, 4/27/14

Introduction. The concepts of 4or! and energ$ are introduced in all beginning ph$sics classes. 2t that beginning le.el, the student has attained a proficienc$ in algebra and trigono1etr$ onl$, and as such, 1an$ educators belie.e the student is unable to appreciate or understand the de.elop1ent of the 4or! energ$ theore1. These educators t$picall$ present 4or! as force ti1es displace1ent, !inetic energ$ and potential energ$ as 1agic for1ulas, and spend 1uch ti1e discussing ho4 these energies transfor1 fro1 one for1 to the ne3t. Proble1s are authored and sol.ed as if all proble1s can be sol.ed b$ 5conser.ation of energ$6 and that it, energ$, is always conser.ed. Te3tboo! sections entitled 5Optional - or! done b$ a .ariable force.6, clearl$ set the tone of lack of importance of this situation, for students and instructors ali!e. 7o1e te3t boo! authors do address the idea that 4or! is an integral part of the energ$ concept, but fail to paint the big picture of path independence or dependence, 4hich ties all the 4or! energ$ co1ponents together in a logical fashion, fa.oring to create a nu1ber of 5special cases6 that the student 1e1ori8es, but rarel$ understands. The fact that it is not necessary to know how the energy transforms from form to form when solving pro lems, the real po4er of the 4or! energ$ theore1, is totall$ 1issed. This conde1nation of ph$sics education 1a$ in fact see1 so1e4hat harsh. Te3tboo! authors could use the afore noted lac! of 1ath s!ill as argu1ent to defend their approach to the 4or! energ$ o1ission. 7till, there is an understandable thread connecting 4or! and energ$, path function, point function, and that stor$ needs to be told because it pro.ides the foundation for understanding 9or lac! thereof: in ther1od$na1ics courses to follo4. In areas of ph$sics, histor$ 4ill help con.e$ a sense of the concept. ith force, 4e ha.e but to loo! to %e4ton to see ho4 this concept 4as de.eloped. %e4ton;s la4s are tightl$ pac!aged in a brief 1o1ent in histor$. or! energ$, ho4e.er, has no 1o1ent in histor$ and no founding father. or! energ$ is si1ilar to a 1eal in re.erse, the dessert ser.ed first, and lastl$ the 1eat and potatoes. The 4or! energ$ stor$ cannot be told in chronological order because it 4as not de.eloped in an$ logical order. It si1pl$ e.ol.ed. The goal of this paper is to present the 4or! energ$ theore1 to the student of calculus based ph$sics in an order that is logical, not historical. To sho4 the beaut$ of the arrange1ent, the po4er of the results, so that for the student, the or! 'nerg$ Theore1 finall$ falls together 4ith cr$stal clarit$.

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Prolog, In search of Vis Visa. Prior to the ti1e of Galileo 91)"-<1-"2 2.#.:, science 4as conducted largel$ b$ philosophical argu1ent. Ideas 4ere purposed, and elegant argu1ents proposed to lend reason to the pre1ise. In the 2ristotelian 4orld .ie4, e3peri1entation 4as percei.ed to be 5unnatural6 and therefore not appropriate for discerning the 4or!ings of the natural 4orld. It is Galileo 4ho is thought of as the father of e3peri1ent. =is cle.erness in designing e3peri1ents, 4hich .erif$ pre1ise, pro.ided a ne4 4a$ of !no4ing, and e3peri1ent is considered the standard for the .erification of pre1ise toda$. 2t Galileo>s ti1e in histor$, the intellects of the da$ 4ere in search of the cause .ariable, the Vis Visa, the 5li.ing force6 of 1otion. '3peri1ents in.ol.ing the collision of balls 4ere conducted. =u$gens 91-2/<1-/): and others 4ould notice that if a 1o.ing ball 4ere to collide into a string of stationar$ balls of the sa1e 1ass, that the 1o.ing ball 4ould stop and a ball at the other end of the string 4ould start 1otion, ha.ing the sa1e .elocit$ as 4hich the incident ball pre.iousl$ had. This e3peri1ent and others of si1ilar nature presented a peculiar outco1e. 2n outco1e, 4hich see1ed to suggest that so1ething of an unusual nature, had occurred. It 4as thought that if this e3peri1ent could be understood, one 1ight disco.er the Vis Visa, the cause for the effect. e no4 understand this e3peri1ent in ter1s of both 1o1entu1 and energ$. To$s, consisting of s4inging balls able to collide, are co11onplace. ?et, in the da$s of Galileo, the e3peri1ental outco1e could onl$ be considered peculiar. =u1anit$ 4as in no position to full$ understand the principles in.ol.ed and could onl$ classif$ the result. 'nter the era of %e4ton 91-"2<1(2(:. 2round 1-,( 2.#., %e4ton publishes his thoughts of &orce. %e4ton;s three force la4s pro.ide a ne4 understanding of force, acceleration, i1pulse, and 1o1entu1. The conceptual tools needed to understand all of 1echanics are in place. The Calculus is also in.ented b$ %e4ton, pro.iding a 1athe1atical tool to 1anipulate these ph$sical la4s. %e4ton pro.ides the tools that 4ill ulti1atel$ open the path4a$ to the understanding of 4hat is no4 called the 4or! energ$ theore1. %e4ton does not co1plete the concept ho4e.er and 1an$ other scientists 4ill contribute to its e.olution. +$ the ti1e of =el1holt8 91,21<1,/":, and 4ith the help of +ernouli, *agrange, *aplace, and others, the 4or! energ$ theore1 4ould be understood. The stage 4ould be set for Carnot 91(/-<1,32: to e3tend the 4or! energ$ theore1 to its ne3t logical le.el, Ther1od$na1ics@ Clasius, Kel.in, Aa34ell, +olt81an, %ernst, and finall$ Gibbs, 4ould e.ol.e ther1od$na1ics to its full glor$. e no4 tell the stor$ in a 1uch different order.

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Work. or! is 4here 4e start our logical discussion. The concept of 4or! can be interpreted as the 1easure1ent of the acco1plish1ent of a tas!. To do 4or!, effort 9force: is reBuired. =a.ing effort ho4e.er does not 1ean that 4or! is done. The effort 1ust acco1plish so1ethingCa displace1ent 1ust acco1pan$ the effort. If either the force or the displace1ent is 8ero, the 4or! 4ill be 8ero. 2nother reBuire1ent is that the force 1ust be in the direction of the displace1ent. If the force is not in the direction of the displace1ent, onl$ the co1ponent of the force, in the direction of the displace1ent, can be used to co1pute the 4or!. &or the special case 4here the force is constant, the 4or! 1a$ be co1puted asD #ork = " ! cos , 4here is the angle bet4een the force and displace1ent .ector 4hen arranged tail<to< tail. The abo.e 4or! eBuation is often 4ritten in shorthand, dot product, notation asD
#ork = " !

& 3

hen using the 4ord 4or!, one should !eep in 1ind the follo4ing sentenceD Work done by , on . The first blan! is filled in b$ the force in Buestion. The re1aining blan! specifies the obEect that displaces. '3a1plesD or! done b$ 1$ force on the ball. or! done b$ the force of gra.it$ on the ball. or! done b$ the net force on the ball. The target force, or force group, should al4a$s be specified. or! is a scalar Buantit$. The sign on the calculation is controlled b$ the cosine of the angle. If the angle is less than /0 degrees, the 4or! is positi.e. If the angle is greater than /0 degrees, the 4or! is negati.e. If the angle is /0 degrees, the 4or! 4ill be 8ero. 7ince 4or! is a scalar, the total 4or! done for a seBuence of tas!s is Eust the algebraic su1 of the 4or! done for each tas! in the seBuence.
! cos , 4ill co1pute 4or! as long as the force is The for1ula, #ork = " constant, ho4e.er for a .ariable force, a 1ore general e3pression, an integral, 1ust be used. Consider the co1putation of the 4or! done b$ the .ariable force in the figure belo4D

10 &9ne4tons:

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"

) 0 0 2 " 3 91eters: Fur tactic 4ill be to .ie4 the proble1 as a seBuence of 4or!s. &irst, the 4or! done to displace the initial t4o 1eters, and then the 4or! done to displace the final t4o 1eters. e ha.e a constant force of 10 ne4tons 4ith a displace1ent of 2 1eters. The 4or! done is or! G H10 nH H21H cos 0 G 20 n1 9or Eoules:. e ha.e a constant force of ) ne4tons 4ith a displace1ent of 2 1eters. The 4or! done is or! G H)nH H21H cos 0 G 10 Eoules. The total 4or! done is thus 20E I 10E G 30 Eoules. %otice that in the abo.e co1putations, 4e ha.e effecti.el$ co1puted the area of t4o rectangles@ Fur total 4or! is the area under the force .s displace1ent graph. This is true in all situations. e ha.e onl$ to de.ise a cle.er 4a$ of co1puting this area and 4e can co1pute the 4or! done for an$ .ariable force. The cle.er co1putation 1ethod, called an integral, is in effect an $e!act appro!imation%. The integral in calculus is de.eloped b$ first cutting the area under the cur.e into rectangular strips of eBual 4idth 93:. The appro3i1ate area is then co1puted b$ su11ing the area of all strips. The e3act area is then obtained b$ loo!ing at the trend 4hen the strip 4idth, 3, is 1ade infinitel$ s1all and the nu1ber of strips is 1ade correspondingl$ infinitel$ large.
#ork = 1 "i ! , 4here 3 0 & d3

here d3 is considered an infinitel$ s1all 3. This is the definition of the calculus integral. +$ using a graph of force .erses displace1ent, e.en the non<calculus ph$sics student can understand 4or! done b$ a .ariable force. 2reas can be co1puted fro1 pol$gon for1ulas andJor appro3i1ated using rectangular strips. i & f or!

3 hen co1puting 4or! in this 1anner, the student is cautioned to double chec! the sign on the resulting area b$ inspection of the force and displace1ent .ectors

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in.ol.ed. Indeed, 4or! .ie4ed as area under the force displace1ent graph is the perfect application to introduce the student to the concept of an integral. It is also the perfect description of a Path &unction. In 1o.ing fro1 the point 5i6 to the point 5f6, it is easil$ understood that the area under the cur.e depends on the path chosen to connect points 5i6 and 5f6. or! is defined asD

#ork &w " &s

hen appl$ing the integral for1, one should first thin! of e3pressing &w, the s1all Buantit$ of 4or! along a li1iting short part of the path, then, add up all the s1all 4or! incre1ents to arri.e at the total 4or!. or! is in general, a PATH function. The ter1 path is used since one 1ust !no4 ho4 the force .aries all along the displace1ent path. The path connecting the start and end point deter1ines the a1ount of 4or!.

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Work done by the !et "orce to change an ob#ects $peed. =ere 4e e3plore the 4or! calculation targeting the su1 of the .ector forces 9&net: on a single point 1ass 9or center of 1ass:. 7tarting 4ith the definition of 4or!,
#ork "net "'et &s

7ince fro1 %e4ton, &net G 1 a, 4e substitute for &net, #ork "net = ( ma ) &s +$ definition, a G d.Jdt and so 4e substitute for a,
#ork "net &v = m &s &t &v = m &s &t

e no4 re1o.e the 1ass fro1 the integral as CF%7T2%T,

#ork "net

e re<associate dt 4ith ds,

&s #ork "net = m &v &t

#ork "net = m &v v

+$ definition, dsJdt is .elocit$, 4e substitute.

e no4 e.aluate the dot product b$ reasoning that d. could be bro!en into t4o co1ponents, one in the direction of ., and one co1ponent at /0 degrees to .. The cosine applied to the /0 degree co1ponent produces 8ero 9a direction change but not a speed change:. This lea.es us 4ith,

#ork "net = m v &v G

vi

vf

1 1 1 2 m( v 2 mv 2 mvi2 f vi ) = f 2 2 2

This outco1e is 1uch une3pectedK here in general 4or! is a path function, 4e find that the 4or! done b$ the net force is %FT a path function at all. It is a P%I!T function. The 4or! done b$ the net force is deter1ined b$ the initial and final speeds alone, not b$ an$ speeds along the path, nor b$ the directions of an$ of these speeds. This, is (iscovery) 7o 1uch so, that 4e 4ill create a ne4 Buantit$, Kinetic 'nerg$ G L 1 .2, for 4hich the 4or! done b$ the net force is the change in !inetic energ$. The 4ord energ$, co1ing fro1 the Ger1an language 9Gr. energos, acti.eK fro1 en, in I ergon, 4or!:, is best translated as the a ility to &o work, y virt*e of having some *ni+*e con&ition or privilege of position. 'nerg$ is not 4or!. It is the abilit$ to do 4or!. 2s 4e ha.e seen fro1 the abo.e deri.ation, 4or! is done 4hen energ$ changes. The change in energ$ is 4or!. 5Kinetic6 identifies the uniBue condition 0 motion. e no4 re<in.ent and rena1e the 4or! done b$ the net forceK and introduce the funda1ental .ersion of the or! 'nerg$ Theore1.
#ork -y "net = K,

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4here
K,

1 2 m(v 2 f vi ) 2

This outco1e is the funda1ental step in the de.elop1ent of other refined .ersions of the 4or! energ$ theore1. &ro1 e3peri1ent, to theor$. It 4as 4aiting for the tools of %e4ton. 2s currentl$ for1ulated, 4e no4 ha.e the basis of an .cco*nting /ystem and the sign con.ention also has its basis in accounting, not direction. hen positi.e 4or! is done, the energ$ of the s$ste1 increases. hen negati.e 4or! is done, the energ$ of the s$ste1 decreases.

I or! on sys.

The 7$ste1 K'

< or! y sys.

or! b$ &net, changes the Kinetic energ$ of the 7$ste1. Interlude. &ooking at the 'ig Picture. Fne part of this picture 4e ha.e not $et seen is that the 4or! done b$ the net force, is eBual to the su1 of the indi.idual 4or!s, done b$ all of the indi.idual forces that co1prise the net force. This fact is eas$ to sho4 b$ deri.ation and e3a1ple. *et &G, &', &f, represent gra.itational, elastic, frictional, etc, general force categories.
#ork -y"net = "net &! = "G + ", + ""f +... &! = "G &! + ", &! +... = "G &! + ", &! + ""f &! +... =#G +#, +#"f +... K,

or! +$ &net G

or! +$ Gra.itationI or! +$ 'lasticI or! +$ &rictionICGK'

Gi.en that 4e ha.e pre.iousl$ disco.ered that 4or! done b$ the net force $ields a Point &unction, and that this fact is stri!ing if for no other reason than that 4e 4ill ne.er need to perfor1 that integral again, 4e 1ight as! the BuestionD 5If 4e perfor1 the 4or! integral on other force categories such as gra.itation , 1ight the result turn out si1ilar6M 5 ill those integrals $ield Point &unctions as 4ell6M The ans4er to this Buestion is 5?es, in so1e cases it 4ill6@ It is that fact 4hich leads to the re1aining energ$ concepts. The or! 0 'nerg$ Theore1 master classification scheme is de.ised as follo4sD 1. 7elect a categor$ of force. 2. 2ppl$ the 4or! integral to that force. 3. '3a1ine the result...is it a Point &unctionM ". If no, go no further. ). If $es, 1o.e it algebraicall$ to the right side of the 4or! energ$ eBuation. -. 2%#, re<na1e it as a change in energ$. Path functions on the left of the eBuals sign, point functions on the right.

G.Kapp, 4/27/14

This is ho4 the re1aining configurational energ$ for1s are contri.ed. e1bar! on that Eourne$.

e 4ill no4

(ravitational Potential Energy. e start 4ith the tas!, comp*te the work &one y the force of gravity, near the earths0 s*rface, to increase an o 1ects altit*&e, at constant velocity. e 4ill again consider a single point 1ass 9or center of 1ass:. Ff course, the force of gra.it$ alone has ne.er increased an obEects altitude, ne.er the less, 4e 1a$ perfor1 the co1putation. e start b$ sho4ing an arbitrar$ path for 4hich the 1ass 4ill 1o.e along. %ear the earth, the force of gra.it$ 1a$ be e3pressed as eight G 1g. e also sho4 a s1all displace1ent .ector, dsK the angle bet4een the force and displace1ent .ector is . hf Path

ds

dh hi

1g 7tarting 4ith the definition of 4or!, 4e first fabricate d4 as

#ork mg = &w ,

&w = mg cos &s &w = mg cos &s &w = mg &h

7ince and are supple1entar$ angles, 4e replace the cos 4ith 0cos , %e3t, 4e recogni8e that HdsHcos G dh and substitute, %otice that the effect of introducing dh is that no 1atter ho4 the direction of ds .aries along the path, dh beco1es the .ertical proEection of ds. e no4 appl$ the integral, hf #ork = mg &h
hi

#ork mg = mg 9 h f hi : = mg h

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e notice that if 4e i1pose a 5local coordinate s$ste16 for the .ariable h, up4ard is positi.e and do4n4ard is negati.e, that the result 4ill also hold true 4hen the obEect decreases altitude. e also notice that the result is a Point &unction@ The 4or! b$ 51g6 does not depend on the path b$ 4hich 4e change altitude, onl$ the change in altitude. Fur final step is to algebraicall$ 1o.e the result to the right side of the 4or! energ$ theore1 and gi.e it a ne4 na1e, the change in gravitational potential energy, G2,. This leads to a ne4 .ersion of the Work Energy Theorem.
#ork done b$ all forces e3cept 1g = K, + G2,

4here,

2 2 K' G 1 3 v f vi

h GP' G mg %otice the e3clusion of the force 51g6 fro1 the 4or! done b$ the net force. This is because 51g6 4or! no4 e3ists on the other side of the eBuation under a ne4 na1e, GP'. This Buantit$ also has a ne4 senseK 4ith the sign change, it beco1es the 4or! done against 9not b$: the force of gra.it$. The 4or! energ$ theore1 has e.ol.ed to a ne4 le.el.

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Elastic Potential Energy. e start 4ith the tas!, comp*te the work &one y the 4ooke0s law spring force, to move that springs free en& away from its rela!e& position at constant velocity. Ff course, a spring 4ill not, b$ itself, 1o.e its free end a4a$ fro1 the rela3ed position. This 4ill not stop us fro1 perfor1ing the co1putation. e should first re1ind the reader of the eBuation relating the force of a =oo!e;s la4 spring to its displace1ent. This eBuation isD
"/pring = k!

The .ariable 5!6 is an e1pirical positi.e constant !no4n as the 5=oo!e;s la4 spring constant6. It is generall$ obtained through e3peri1ent b$ plotting the spring force as a function of end displace1ent. This plot produces a straight line of slope 5!6 and of intercept, 8ero. Thus, the local .ariable 536 1ust be assigned the .alue of 8ero 4hen the spring is in its rela3ed state. d3 &7pring e appl$ the 4or! integral,
#ork "spring = "s &!

e e3pand the dot product, noting that the force of the spring is al4a$s 1,0 degrees to that of the displace1ent.
#ork "spring =
!f !f !i

k! cos1,0 &! = H k H
1 2 k(!2 f !i ) 2

!i

! &!

e co1plete the integral,

#ork "spring =

e notice that the outco1e of the integral is a Point &unction. It depends on the initial and final position of the spring and none of those positions bet4een initial and final. In addition, notice that the plusJ1inus sign con.ention for 3 is not i1portant since the 3 .alue is sBuared. Fnl$ the rela3ed position need be carefull$ assigned, to 8ero. e no4 appl$ the final step. 2lgebraicall$ 1o.e the result to the right side of the eBuation and assign it a ne4 na1e, the change in elastic potential energy, ,2,.

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Work Energy Theorem. +elo4 is our final .ersion of the Theore1)

#ork = K, + G2, + ,2,

or! 'nerg$

4here, FNK, is the 4or! done b$ all forces in the net force 'OC'PT 51g6 and 5!36. K' G GP' G 'P' G
1 2 m(v 2 f vi ) 2
mg h

1 2 k(!2 f !i ) 2

and, 1ass 1ust re1ain constant, up is positi.e for 5h6, and 3 G 8ero 4hen rela3ed. I FNK done on s$ste1 b$ all forces e3ceptD 1g and 0!3. < FNK done b$ s$ste1 on surroundings b$ all forces e3ceptD 1g and 0!3.

7?7T'A

K'IGP'I'P'

The abo.e sche1atic diagra1 represents the accounting basis of the 4or! energ$ theore1. That, 4hich is put in, 1inus that 4hich is pulled out, eBuals the change. ith this .ariation of the 4or! energ$ theore1, 4e possess &eposit5, with&raw-, and acco*nt transfer possibilities. hen appl$ing the 4or! energ$ theore1 to a proble1, 4e also follo4 a procedure si1ilar to an account audit. The procedure is as follo4sD 1. $elect an audit time interval, initial and final. '.en though the ti1es are not used as .ariables, it is i1portant to understand that this is an audit o.er a ti1e. 2. Evaluate the energy side of the *ork energy theorem for all ob#ects in the system at the initial and final times. #o not .ie4 the energ$ status an$4here along the path@ Ne1e1ber, 'nerg$ change is a PFI%T &P%CTIF%. This is usuall$ the easier part of the audit. 3. %n the *ork side of the *ork energy theorem, *e ask the +uestionD 5did an$ e3ternal force, not e3cluded 91g, !3: fro1 the net force, do 4or! an$4here along the path bet4een initial and finalM6. If the ans4er is $es, 4e for1ulate the 4or! integral for that force. This part of the audit is the 1ore difficult. 2 force .ector diagra1 and a s1all displace1ent .ector 9ds: near b$ 4ill help to thin! this through. Ne1e1ber, the concept is to

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loo! for a s1all a1ount of 4or!, d4, and then add the1 up along the path. If the forces in.ol.ed are constant forces, this procedure is 1uch easier to acco1plish. ". "inally, *e solve the fabricated *ork energy e+uation for the desired variable or relationship. #hat the #ork ,nergy 6heorem is 'O6. The student 1ust understand the li1itations to the 4or! energ$ theore1. The concept is 7C2*2N, not .ector. The 4or! energ$ theore1 4ill ne.er e3plain 4h$ a ph$sical s$ste1 responds as it does. True e3planations lie in the concepts of &orce and Aotion. Vector Buantities. The 4or! energ$ theore1 is onl$ an accounting concept. 2n accountant can ne.er e3plain 4h$ a business 1a!es or looses 1one$, onl$ 4here the 1one$ 4ent and ho4 1uchK onl$ the business o4ner can e3plain 4h$. 7i1ilarl$, onl$ the ph$sicist, using &orce and 1otion can e3plain 4h$ a s$ste1 responds as it does. The 4or! energ$ theore1 is ho4e.er an e3tre1el$ po4erful tool to do ph$sics. It 4ill lead to relationships useful in the solution of 1an$ proble1s. The la* of conservation of energy. It is usuall$ stated thatD for the system of the *niverse, energy can neither e create& nor &estroye& 7e!cept in a n*clear reaction8. 'nerg$ is conser.ed@ hether 4e choose to debate this state1ent or not, let us understand one i1portant pointD The system of the ,niverse is all but useless to the solution of real problems. &or the s$ste1 of the uni.erse, all forces are internalK the$ add as .ectors to e3actl$ Q'NF. The solution of real proble1s reBuires s$ste1 boundaries significantl$ s1aller than the uni.erse. Therefore, one 1ust for these s1aller s$ste1s, carefull$ e3a1ine the1 for e3ternal forces capable of doing 4or!. &or s$ste1s s1aller than the uni.erse, useful s$ste1s, 'nerg$ is not necessaril$ conser.ed.

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E-ample .pplication. 2n obEect of 1ass 2 !g is placed on an incline of 30 degrees 4here on, a "00 nJ1 spring is attached. The obEect is pushed do4n on the spring such that the spring co1presses .2 1eters 9spring not attached to the 1ass: and then released. There is friction bet4een the 1ass and incline 9! G .3:. =o4 far up the incline, 1easured fro1 the release position, 4ill the 1ass tra.elM 7olution. The solution to this proble1 could be acco1plished entirel$ using force and 1otion eBuationsK the student should consider atte1pting it in that 1anner. =ere, 4e 4ill atte1pt the solution using the or! 'nerg$ Theore1. "irst, a s!etch is in order. .G0

.G0 1 ! 30 3i

3fG0 h 7

e sho4 the bloc! and spring in the co1presses state at ti1e initial. 2lso sho4n is the bloc! and spring 9dotted: at ti1e final. The .alue 7 has been assigned to the total displace1ent that the bloc! 4ill tra.erse. $econd, 4e introduce the for1 of the 4or! energ$ theore1 4hich 4ill be used for the solution. or!+$ all e3cept Ag, !3 G K' I GP' I 'P' ith the for1 selected, 4e e.aluate the energ$ changes fro1 initial to final. &or the !inetic energ$, .initial and .final are identical, both are 8ero, so there is no change in !inetic energ$K this ter1 4ill be 8ero. This is the beaut$ of a point function@ '.en if the .alues 4ere not 8ero, if the$ are the sa1e at initial and final, the !inetic energ$ change 4ould be 8ero. &or the gra.itational potential energ$, there is an increase in altitude, as sho4n b$ h in the diagra1K this ter1 4ill be non 8ero. &or the elastic potential energ$, the free end of the spring is initiall$ co1pressed, and at ti1e final it is at its rela3ed stateK this ter1 4ill also be non 8ero.

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Third, 4e as! the Buestion 5did an$ e3ternal and non e3cluded force do 4or! an$4here along the displace1ent path6M To ans4er the Buestion 4e 4ill construct a force .ector diagra1. C &spring

ds &f

30

1g The surface co1pression force, 5C6, is /0 degrees to the displace1ent .ector and thus does no 4or!. +oth the 4eight .ector, 51g6, and the force of the spring, 5&spring6 are e3cluded fro1 the 4or! side of the eBuation. This lea.es the !inetic friction force and it &oes 4or!. e 4ill need to e3press this friction force in ter1s of the co1pression and the coefficient of friction.
" f = k 9

and fro1 noting that the acceleration perpendicular to the incline is 8ero, 4e ha.e the co1pression force 5C6 in balance 4ith the perpendicular co1ponent of the 4eight .ector, 51g Cos 306.
" f = k mg cos 30

e also notice that this force is constant so the integral for1 of 4or! is not necessar$. "inally, 4e asse1ble the 4or! energ$ theore1D or!+$ all e3cept Ag, !3 G K' I GP' I 'P'
1 2 k(!2 f !i ) 2 1 2 k mg cos 30 / cos 1,0 = mg h + k ( ! 2 f !i ) 2 " f / cos 1,0 = mg h +

The 4or! energ$ theore1 is thus applied. To sol.e for 7, 4e reBuire a substitution for h. &ro1 trigono1etr$, h G 7 sin 30. e substitute this relationship along 4ith the .alue of 3f 94hich is 8ero:.
k mg cos 30 / cos 1,0 = mg / sin 30 +
1 k (0 !i2 ) 2

e are no4 in a position to sol.e the e3pression for 7.

G.Kapp, 4/27/14

1)

/ =

k!i2 2 mg 9sin 30 + k cos 30:

/ =

"00 nJ1 9.2 1: 2 = .)3( 1eters 2 2 !g /., 1Js2 9sin 30 + .3 cos 30:

G.Kapp, 4/27/14

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