The Work Done When Equal Forces Act on Boxes

When two equal forces act on a box in opposite directions, it is said that the box is in equilibrium. In this situation, the box is not moving, or its velocity is zero. In other words, the net force acting on it is zero. This means that the work done by each force is equal to the work done by the other force. But what is the work done by each of these forces on the box? This article will discuss the work done when equal forces act on boxes.

What is Work Done?

What is Work Done?

Work done is a physical quantity that is defined as the product of force and displacement. It is expressed in joules (J). In other words, when a force moves an object through a certain distance, the work done by the force is equal to the force multiplied by the displacement. For example, if a force of 10 N moves an object through a distance of 2 meters, then the work done by the force is 10 N × 2 m = 20 J.

The Work Done When Equal Forces Act on Boxes

The Work Done When Equal Forces Act on Boxes

When two equal forces act on a box, the work done by each force is equal to the work done by the other force. This is because the magnitude of the forces is the same. As such, the force multiplied by the displacement is also the same. This means that the work done by both forces is equal.

To calculate the work done by such forces, we need to first calculate the displacement of the box. This can be calculated by subtracting the initial position of the box from its final position. Once we have the displacement, we can calculate the work done by each force. The work done by each force is then equal to the magnitude of the force multiplied by the displacement.

Example

Example

Suppose two forces, each with a magnitude of 10 N, act on a box in opposite directions. The initial position of the box is 0 meters and the final position of the box is 2 meters. The displacement of the box is then 2 meters. The work done by each force is then 10 N × 2 m = 20 J. This means that the total work done by the two forces is 40 J.



In conclusion, when two equal forces act on a box in opposite directions, the work done by each force is equal to the work done by the other force. This is because the magnitude of the forces is the same and the displacement of the box is also the same. To calculate the work done by such forces, we need to first calculate the displacement of the box and then multiply it by the magnitude of the forces. This will give us the total work done by the two forces.