a person gets a running start toward the wall from 5 m away the person pushes the wall with the force of 500 Newtons but the wall does not move how much work is done by the person

1 answer

To calculate the work done, we use the formula:

\[ \text{Work} = \text{Force} \times \text{Distance} \times \cos(\theta) \]

where:

  • Work is measured in joules (J),
  • Force is measured in newtons (N),
  • Distance is the displacement in the direction of the force (measured in meters),
  • \( \theta \) is the angle between the force and the direction of movement.

In this case, the person pushes against the wall with a force of 500 N, but because the wall does not move, the distance moved in the direction of the force is 0 meters.

Thus, regardless of the force applied, if there is no movement (distance = 0), the work done is:

\[ \text{Work} = 500 , \text{N} \times 0 , \text{m} \times \cos(\theta) = 0 , \text{J} \]

Therefore, the work done by the person is 0 joules since there is no displacement.