Back to 'Unit 7: Work and Energy'

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  • 7.1: Calculating Work and Force

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    Work is done on a system when a constant applied force causes the system to be displaced or moved in the direction of the applied force. We can describe work using the equation W = Fd\cos\theta , where F is force, d is displacement, and \theta (the Greek letter theta) is the angle between F and d .

    From the equation for work, we can see that the unit for work must be the Newton-meter: the unit for force is the Newton and the unit for displacement (distance) is the meter. We define the Newton-meter as the unit joule. Consequently, we use joules as the unit for work and energy.