Answer to Question #91361 in Mechanics | Relativity for george

Question

what’s the work done in pushing a 5kg bag half a metre across a desk

Answer 1

By the definition of the work done, we have:

$$W = Fd,$$

here, $W$ is the work done, $F$ is the force acting on the bag, $d$ is the displacement of the bag in the direction of force.

Unfortunately, from the condition of the question we don't know the amount of force acting on the bag. Let, for example, the force acting on the bag would be 100 N. Then, we can calculate the work done:

$$W = Fd = 100N \cdot 0.5 m = 50 J.$$

Answer:

$W = 50 J.$