A 75.0 kg man pushes on a 500,000 ton wall for 250 s but it does not move. How much work does he do on the wall?

2 Answers
ladylilly
Feb 9, 2018

No work

Explanation:

Work is equal to a force times a displacement (parallel to the force)
#W=F*D#
It is energy that causes a mass to be moved.

In this situation the wall does not move, ie zero displacement, therefore he does no work on the wall.

#W=F*D =F*0=0J#

Nam D.
Feb 9, 2018

#0J#

Explanation:

Work is defined by the equation

#W=F*d#

#F# is the force in newtons

#d# is the distance in metres

Since the wall didn't move anywhere, that means that he did no work or #0# joules of work.

This can be a trick question because of the time given #(250s)#, but you always have to follow with the definition of work, which is force multiplied by distance. Since the distance is not moved, then no work is done.

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