Power is a rate
Work says how much; power says how fast. (read aloud: P equals W over t) — the power in watts, the work in joules, the time it took in seconds — and its unit, the watt, is one joule per second. Same bill, different clock: a kettle and a campfire can hand the water the same joules, but the kettle does it before the conversation dries up.
Power's second face: push with force at steady speed and (P equals F v) — newtons times metres-per-second cancels to joules-per-second, the units signing off. Choose the face by the GIVENS: work and time point to ; force and speed point to . And mind the chapter's running gag — W the symbol is work in joules, W the unit is watts. The sentence tells you which one showed up.
- = Power (power)
- = Work or energy (energy)
- = Time (time)
- = Power (power)
- = Force (force)
- = Velocity (speed)
exam-room calculatorallowed · no penalty
·