A can of bolts and nuts is pushed 2.00 m along an x axis by a broom along the greasy (frictionless) floor of a car repair shop in a version of shuffleboard. Figure 7-26 gives the work W done on the can by the constant horizontal force from the broom, versus the can’s position x. The scale of the figure’s vertical axis is set by W_s = 6.0 J. (a) What is the magnitude of that force? (b) If the can had an initial kinetic energy of 3.00 J, moving in the positive direction of the x axis, what is its kinetic energy at the end of the 2.00 m?
(a) From Eq. 7-6, F = W/x = 3.00 N (this is the slope of the graph).
W=F_x d (7-6)
(b) Equation 7-10 yields K = K_i+ W = 3.00 J + 6.00 J = 9.00 J.
\Delta K=K_f-K_i=W (7-10)