This all-in-one online Work Calculator performs calculations using a formula that relates the mechanical work produced by a constant force applied to an object along its direction of motion to the magnitude of the force and the distance traveled by that object. You can enter the values of any two known parameters in the input fields of this calculator and find the missing parameter.
Mechanical Work
In physics, mechanical work is the energy transferred to or from an object via the application of force along a displacement (distance traveled) of the object.
A force applied to an object performs positive work if it has a component in the direction of displacement of the object. If the component of the force is opposite to the direction of displacement, the force performs negative work.
With a constant force and a rectilinear motion of the object, the work \(W\) is calculated as the product of the magnitude of the force \(F\) by the displacement \(s\) and the cosine of the angle \(\theta \) between the displacement and force vectors:
$$W = F \cdot s \cdot cos(\theta).$$
In more complex cases (non-constant force, curvilinear motion), this formula is applicable to a small time interval only, and to calculate the total work it is necessary to sum (integrate) over all such intervals.
Work is a scalar quantity with dimension M·L2·T−2. The SI unit of work is the joule (J), the same unit as for energy. One joule is defined as the work produced by a force of one newton when an object is moved a distance of one meter. In terms of SI base units we have:
$$1\ J = 1\ \frac{kg\cdot m^2}{s^2}.$$
The other most common units of work, also used in our Work Calculator, are:
• 1 kJ = 1000 J
• 1 Wh = 3600 J
• 1 kWh = 3600 kJ
• 1 kcal = 4184 J
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