1.2 Kinetic energy and the work-energy theorem  (Page 3/10)

The effect of the net force ${\mathbf{F}}_{\text{net}}$ is to accelerate the package from $v_0$ to $v$ . The kinetic energy of the package increases, indicating that the net work done on the system is positive. (See [link] .) By using Newton’s second law, and doing some algebra, we can reach an interesting conclusion. Substituting $F_{\text{net}}=\text{ma}$ from Newton’s second law gives

To get a relationship between net work and the speed given to a system by the net force acting on it, we take $d=x-x_0$ and use the equation studied in Motion Equations for Constant Acceleration in One Dimension for the change in speed over a distance $d$ if the acceleration has the constant value $a$ ; namely, $v^2={v_0}^2+2\text{ad}$ (note that $a$ appears in the expression for the net work). Solving for acceleration gives $a=\frac{v^2-{v_0}^2}{2d}$ . When $a$ is substituted into the preceding expression for $W_{\text{net}}$ , we obtain

The $d$ cancels, and we rearrange this to obtain

This expression is called the work-energy theorem    , and it actually applies in general (even for forces that vary in direction and magnitude), although we have derived it for the special case of a constant force parallel to the displacement. The theorem implies that the net work on a system equals the change in the quantity $\frac{1}{2}{\text{mv}}^2$ . This quantity is our first example of a form of energy.

The quantity $\frac{1}{2}{\text{mv}}^2$ in the work-energy theorem is defined to be the translational kinetic energy    (KE) of a mass $m$ moving at a speed $v$ . ( Translational kinetic energy is distinct from rotational kinetic energy, which is considered later.) In equation form, the translational kinetic energy,

is the energy associated with translational motion. Kinetic energy is a form of energy associated with the motion of a particle, single body, or system of objects moving together.

We are aware that it takes energy to get an object, like a car or the package in [link] , up to speed, but it may be a bit surprising that kinetic energy is proportional to speed squared. This proportionality means, for example, that a car traveling at 100 km/h has four times the kinetic energy it has at 50 km/h, helping to explain why high-speed collisions are so devastating. We will now consider a series of examples to illustrate various aspects of work and energy.