Question 1: Look at the activities listed below. Reason out whether or not work is done in the light of your understanding of the term ‘work’.
- Suma is swimming in a pond.
- A donkey is carrying a load on its back.
- A wind-mill is lifting water from a well.
- A green plant is carrying out photosynthesis.
- An engine is pulling a train.
- Food grains are getting dried in the sun.
- A sailboat is moving due to wind energy.
Work will be done if a force acts on an object and displacement occurs in the direction of force. According to this explanation, work is done in the following activities:
- Suma is swimming in a pond.
- A donkey is carrying a load on its back.
- A wind-mill is lifting water from a well.
- An engine is pulling a train.
- A sailboat is moving due to wind energy.
Question 2: An object thrown at a certain angle to the ground moves in a curved path and falls back to the ground. The initial and the final points of the path of the object lie on the same horizontal line. What is the work done by the force of gravity on the object?
For calculating work done, there must be displacement, but since in this example, vertical displacement is zero (as initial and final points lie on the same horizontal line), the work done by the force of gravity is zero.
Question 3: A battery lights a bulb. Describe the energy changes involved in the process.
Chemical energy of the battery is changed into heat energy and light energy.
Question 4: Certain force acting on a 20 kg mass changes its velocity from \(5 \, \text{m/s}\) to \(2 \, \text{m/s}\). Calculate the work done by the force.
Solution:
Work done by the force = change in kinetic energy
= 210 J
Question 5: A mass of 10 kg is at a point A on a table. It is moved to a point B. If the line joining A and B is horizontal, what is the work done on the object by the gravitational force? Explain your answer.
Since work done on the object by gravitational force depends upon the change in the vertical height of the object, and the vertical height of the object is not changing as the line joining A and B is horizontal at the same height, hence the work done is zero.
Question 6: The potential energy of a freely falling object decreases progressively. Does this violate the law of conservation of energy? Why?
It doesn’t violate the law of conservation of energy because the potential energy of a freely falling object decreases progressively since it keeps changing into kinetic energy of the free-falling object, therefore the total energy of the object remains conserved.
Question 7: What are the various energy transformations that occur when you are riding a bicycle?
It is the transformation of our muscular energy into mechanical energy to ride the bicycle.
Question 8: Does the transfer of energy take place when you push a huge rock with all your might and fail to move it? Where is the energy you spend going?
While we push a huge rock with all our might (power) but fail to move it, no energy transfer occurs as cellular energy simply wastes out in muscle contraction and relaxation, even heat generation (sweating).
Question 9: A certain household has consumed 250 units of energy during a month. How much energy is this in joules?
Energy consumed by a certain household = 250 kWh
Since 1 kWh = 3.6 x 10^6 J
Therefore, 250 kWh = 250 x 3.6 x 10^6 = 9 x 10^8 J
Question 10: An object of mass 40 kg is raised to a height of 5 m above the ground. What is its potential energy? If the object is allowed to fall, find its kinetic energy when it is halfway down.
When the object is halfway down the height (2.5 m), initial velocity (u) = 0 (thrown from ground/rest). Using the equation \(v^2 = u^2 + 2gh\): \(v^2 = 0 + 2 \times 10 \times 2.5 = 50\)
Kinetic energy:
= 1000 J
Question 11: What is the work done by the force of gravity on a satellite moving round the earth? Justify your answer.
Solution:
.
Therefore, work done is zero.
Question 12: Can there be displacement of an object in the absence of any force acting on it? Think. Discuss this Question with your friends and teacher.
Solution:
No.
Question 13: A person holds a bundle of hay over his head for 30 minutes and gets tired. Has he done some work or not? Justify your answer.
Solution:
No work done.
No work done.
Question 14: An electric heater is rated 1500 W. How much energy does it use in 10 hours?
Solution:
Energy = power x time = 1.5 kW x 10 h = 15 kWh
Energy consumed by the electric heater = 15 kWh
Question 15: Illustrate the law of conservation of energy by discussing the energy changes which occur when we draw a pendulum bob to one side and allow it to oscillate. Why does the bob eventually come to rest? What happens to its energy eventually? Is it a violation of the law of conservation of energy?
Solution:
It is not a violation of the law of conservation of energy since mechanical energy can get converted into another form of energy, which cannot be utilized for useful work. This loss of energy is called dissipation of energy.
The bob eventually comes to rest due to frictional forces. It is not a violation of the law of conservation of energy since mechanical energy can get converted into other forms of energy, leading to the dissipation of energy.
Question 16: An object of mass, \( m \), is moving with a constant velocity, \( v \). How much work should be done on the object in order to bring the object to rest?
Solution: 
The work done to bring the object to rest is equal to its initial kinetic energy.
Question 17: Calculate the work required to be done to stop a car of 1500 kg moving at a velocity of 60 km/h?
Solution: 
Final kinetic energy = 0
Therefore, work done = change in kinetic energy = \(208333.30 \, J\)
Final velocity (\(v\)) = 0 (object has to be stopped)
Initial kinetic energy = \(\frac{1}{2} m u^2\)
The work done to stop the car is \(208333.30 \, J\).
Question 18: In each of the following, a force \( F \) is acting on an object of mass \( m \). The direction of displacement is from west to east shown by the longer arrow. Observe the diagrams carefully and state whether the work done by the force is negative, positive, or zero.
(i) Since in this diagram displacement is perpendicular to the direction of force, so work done is zero.
(ii) Since in this diagram displacement is in the direction of force, so work done is positive.
(iii) Since in this diagram displacement is in the opposite direction of the force applied, hence work done is negative.
Question 19: Soni says that the acceleration in an object could be zero even when several forces are acting on it. Do you agree with her? Why?
Solution:
Yes, we agree with Soni's statement. When several balanced forces act on an object, the net force becomes zero, leading to zero acceleration and zero displacement.
Question 20: Find the energy in kW h consumed in 10 hours by four devices of power 500 W each.
Solution:
= \(4 \times 500 \times 10 = 20000 \, Wh\)
= \(20 \, kWh\)
The energy consumed by the four devices is \(20 \, kWh\).
Question 21: A freely falling object eventually stops on reaching the ground. What happens to its kinetic energy?
Solution:
The kinetic energy of the freely falling object is transferred to the ground upon reaching it, resulting in the object coming to a stop.