Module 1: Work, Energy, and Power

Conversation Force

A force that does zero net work on a particle that travels along any closed path in an isolated system.

Lever

A rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object.

Electronvolt

A unit of energy often used also in theoretical physics as a unit of mass. It is the amount of kinetic energy gained by a single unbound electron when it passes through an electrostatic potential difference of one volt, in vacuo.

British Thermal Unit

A unit of energy used globally in the power, steam generation and heating and air conditioning industries.

Pulley

A wheel with a groove along its edge for holding a rope or cable or belt.

Mechanical Work

Amount of energy transferred by a force.

Simple Machine

Any device that only requires the application of a single force to work.

Potential Energy

Energy stored within a physical system.

Foot-Pound

Force of an English unit of work or energy. It is the amount of energy expended when a force of one pound acts through a distance of 1 foot along the direction of the force.

Gravitational Binding Energy

Object consisting of loose material, held together by gravity alone, is the amount of energy required to pull all of the material apart, to infinity.

Watt

SI derived unit of power, equal to one joule per second.

Conservation of Energy

States that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant, although it may change forms.

Joule

The SI unit of energy.

Mechanical Efficiency

The effectiveness of a machine and is defined as the ratio of mechanical advantage to velocity ratio.

Elastic Energy

The energy which causes or is released by the physical distortion of a solid or a fluid.

Kinetic Energy

The extra energy which it possesses due to its motion, defined as the work needed to accelerate the body from rest to its current speed.

Mechanical Advantage

The factor by which a mechanism multiplies the force put into it.

Inclined Plane

The flat surface whose endpoints are at different heights.

Power

The rate at which work is performed or energy is transmitted. It is the amount of energy required or expended for a given unit of time.

Erg

The unit of energy and mechanical work in the centimetre-gram-second (CGS) system of units. Equal to 10^-7.

Calorie

Unit of measurement for energy equal to the amount of heat required to raise a gram of water one degree celsius. In most fields, it has been replaced by the joule.

Energy

Work one system does (or can do) on another system