Work is the energy transferred to or from an object as the result of the action of a force.

Positive work is a transfer of energy to the object, and negative work is a transfer of energy from the object.

Work = Force x Displacement

The unit of work is the joule*, J, which is defined as the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton acts for a distance of 1 m in the direction of the force. Thus, 1 J = 1 N m

NOTE: If the body moves in the same direction as the force the angle is 0 degree, then;

                    Workdone = F x d

Where d is the distance.

When the angle is 90 then the work done is zero.

FORCE – DISTANCE GRAPH

If a graph is plotted of experimental values of force(on the y-axis) against distance moved (on the x-axis), the graph is called force-distance graph or work diagram.

The area under the graph represents the work done.

A constant force F, used to raised  a load of distance d, can be represented by a force – distance graph shown below;

Similarly, a spring extended by distance, d by a force F, can be represented by a force – distance graph as shown below;