If Work is F * s where F ( Force) is a vector Quantity and s(Distance) is a scalar Quantitty , their product should be a vector and not scalar.
2006-09-30 08:01:36 · 5 answers · asked by Akshita 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
That's not actually the correct representation of work. In scalar form it would be,
W = F*s*cos(th) where th = angle between force and displacement.
This derives from the differential expression for Work, which is,
dW = F(dot)dS ; where F and dS are Vectors and (dot) means dot-product.
dS is a vector displacement.
2006-09-30 08:39:10 · answer #1 · answered by entropy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Work is a scalar because that's the way it's defined. It's actually the integral of the scalar product of the force vector and the displacement vector. It's a measure of what the force accomplishes to change the kinetic energy of an object
2006-09-30 10:32:08 · answer #2 · answered by Frank N 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually
W=F*Îx
where W: work(scalar) F: force(vector) and
Îx: Displacement(vector)
vector*vector=scalar
2006-09-30 08:12:33 · answer #3 · answered by The Greek Guy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's real simple, dude.
Vectors have direction, scalars don't.
If I push a box 5 feet to the left and then 5 feet to the right, the distance traveled (a vetor) is 0, but the work done (a scalar) is not zero.
got it? good.
2006-09-30 08:05:08 · answer #4 · answered by jack b 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because if you say that a certain amount of work was done there is no need to say what direction the work was done in because that would be irrelevant. Another example, a gallon of gas can do a certain amount of work--would it make any sense to specify a direction that it could do it in?
2006-09-30 08:07:30 · answer #5 · answered by bruinfan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋