Physics Work and Energy Concepts

These flashcards cover important vocabulary and concepts related to work and energy as discussed in the lecture notes.

Work

The energy transferred to or from an object via the application of force along a displacement.

Kinetic Energy

The energy that an object possesses due to its motion, calculated as KE = 1/2 mv^2.

Friction Force

The force that opposes the relative motion of two surfaces in contact, and is often described in terms of coefficients.

Net Work

The total work done on an object, which is equal to the sum of work done by all forces acting on it.

Normal Force

The support force exerted by a surface perpendicular to the object in contact with it.

Gravity

The force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass.

Inclined Plane

A flat surface tilted at an angle to the horizontal, often used to help move objects upward.

Spring Constant

A measure of a spring's stiffness, denoted by k, which describes the relationship between force applied to a spring and its displacement.

Acceleration

The rate of change of velocity of an object with respect to time.

Coefficient of Friction

A numerical value that represents the frictional force between two objects, typically denoted as μ.