A body weighing 100 grams falls from a height of 2 meters. What kind of work does gravity do in this case?

Work characterizes the action of a force applied to the body to move it. Its value is determined by the formula:

A = F * S, where A is work, F is force, S is displacement (moreover, the direction of force and displacement of the body coincide here).

In our case, gravity is applied to the body –

F = mg, where m is the mass of the body, g is the acceleration of gravity (for convenience, we round it up to 10 m / s²), and it moves to the ground. We know this path traversed by the body (its meaning) from the condition of our example.

The work done by gravity in this case will be –

A = 0.1 kg * 10 m / s² * 2 m = 2 N * m or 2 J. Thus, we have found the required value of the work, according to the terms of the assignment.