Question

How is work, force, and distance related?

Answer 1

Hint: Work, force, and distance are all inter-related. Work is the amount of force applied to move an object to a certain distance. It is measured in Joules \[\left( J \right)\] or bigger units as kilojoules\[\left( {kJ} \right)\] . The force is measured in Newton \[\left( N \right)\] and distance in meters or kilometers.

Complete answer:
The relation between work, force, and distance is given by a formula-
Work= Force× Distance
The unit of force is given by Newton (N) whereas distance is measured in meters. This gives Newton. The meter \[\left( {Nm} \right)\] which equals Joule, which is also the SI unit of work. Therefore a body is said to do a work of \[1\] joule when a force of \[1N\] is applied for a distance of \[1\] meter.
The above equation can also be arranged in other forms depending on the variables known-
\[\Rightarrow {\text{Force = }}\dfrac{{{\text{Work}}}}{{{\text{Distance}}}}\]
\[\Rightarrow {\text{Distance = }}\dfrac{{{\text{Work}}}}{{{\text{Force}}}}\]
Work is directly proportional to applied force and distance i.e. if for a larger distance, a large amount of force is applied then work done also will be more and vice versa.
For example, if there is a heavy box and a lightbox. More force will be required to move the heavy box as compared to the lightbox. Therefore, the work done will be more in the first case than in the second case.

Note: Let us solve an example to understand it better-
A heavy box is moved through a distance of \[300metres\] when a force of \[100N\] is applied to it. Calculate the work done.
By applying the formula: work = force × distance = \[100 \times 300 = 30000J\]
A work of \[30000J\] is done to move a body through a distance of \[300metres\]by applying \[100N\] force.