OpenQuery9

course PHY 121

8/27

009. `query 9 *********************************************

Question: See if you can answer the following question, which came from a student: Please define the difference between Fnet and Force.

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Your solution: Fnet is the net force on a specific mass, while the “force” includes both the direction of movement and the direction of opposing movement.

confidence rating: 2/3

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Given Solution: Net force is the sum of all forces acting on an object. If you're pushing your car you are exerting a force, friction is opposing you, and the let force is the sum of the two (noting that one is positive, the other negative so you end up with net force less than the force you are exerting). Your heart rate responds to the force you are exerting and the speed with which the car is moving; the accel of the car depends on the net force. **

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Self-critique (if necessary): OK – probably need to review this some more.

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Self-critique Rating:

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Question: Introductory prob set 3 #'s 1-6 If we know the distance an object is pushed and the work done by the pushing force how do we find the net force exerted on the object?

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Your solution: `dW = Fave * `ds

confidence rating: 3

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Given Solution: Knowing the distance `ds and the work `dW we use the basic relationship

• `dW = F_net * `ds

Solving this equation for F we obtain

• F_net = `dW / `ds

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Self-critique (if necessary): OK

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Self-critique Rating:

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Question: If we know the net force exerted on an object and the distance through which the force acts how do we find the KE change of the object?

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Your solution: Fnet * `ds = `dKE

confidence rating: 2/3

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Given Solution: A slightly over-simplified simple answer:

• the KE change is equal to the work done by the net force.

• the work done by the net force is the product of the force and the distance through which it acts so

• the KE change is equal to the product of the force and the distance.

That answer is a bit over-simplified because it applies only if the net force is in same the direction as the motion. More correctly:

• the KE change is equal to the work done by the net force.

• the work done by the net force is the product of the force and the displacement (not 'distance') in the direction of the force

• the KE change is equal to the product of the force and the displacement.

The key difference here is the use of the word 'displacement' rather than 'distance'. Since a displacement, unlike a distance, can be positive or negative, so the work done by a force can be positive or negative.

Another thing to keep in mind for the future is that the displacement is in the direction of the force. We will later encounter instances where the force is not directed along the line on which the object moves.

These ideas are expanded below.

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Synopsis of work-kinetic energy:

First be aware that because of Newton's Second Law, there are typically two equal and opposite net forces, the net force which acts on a system and the net force which is exerted by the system. It is necessary to be careful when we label our forces; it's easy to mix up forces exerted by a system with forces exerted on the system.

• The first basic principle is that the work by the net force acting ON the system is equal and opposite to the work done by the net force exerted BY the system.

The KE, on the other hand, is purely a property OF the system.

• The kinetic energy change OF the system is equal to the work done by the net force acting ON the system.

• The kinetic energy change OF the system is therefore equal and opposite to the work done by the net force exerted BY the system.

Intuitively, when work is done ON a system things speed up but when the system does work things have to slow down. A more specific statement would be

• If positive work is done ON a system, the total kinetic energy of the system increases.

• If positive work is done BY a system, the total kinetic energy of the system decreases.

(We could also state that if negative work is done ON a system, its total KE decreases, which should be easy to understand. It is also the case that if a system does negative work, its total KE increases; it's easy to see that this is a logical statement but most people fine that somehow it seems a little harder to grasp).

Below we use `dW_net_ON for the work done by the net force acting ON the system, and `dW_net_BY for the work done by the net force being exerted BY the system.

The work-kinetic energy theorem therefore has two basic forms:

The first form is

• `dW_net_ON = `dKE

which states that the work done by the net force acting ON the system is equal to the change in the KE of the system.

The second form is

• `dW_net_BY + `dKE = 0

which implies that when one of these quantities is positive the other is negative; thus this form tells us that when the system does positive net work its KE decreases.

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Self-critique (if necessary): Whoa – I thought I was on the right tract but am slightly confused after reading everything in the given answer. I understand the answer but not necessarily how or if it relates to my answer.

The following summary might help:

Summary:

One alternative way of stating the

work-kinetic energy theorem:

Forces exerted on the system are equal and opposite to

forces exerted by the system, so