How do you calculate the work done by multiple forces?

To calculate the work done by multiple forces, you sum up the work done by each individual force.

In physics, work is defined as the product of the force applied to an object and the distance over which it is applied. If multiple forces are acting on an object, the work done by each force must be calculated separately and then added together to find the total work done. This is because work is a scalar quantity, meaning it only has magnitude and not direction, so it can be added directly.

To calculate the work done by a single force, you use the formula W = Fd cos θ, where W is the work done, F is the force, d is the distance over which the force is applied, and θ is the angle between the force and the direction of motion. If the force is applied in the same direction as the motion, θ is 0 and cos θ is 1, so the work done is simply the product of the force and the distance. If the force is applied in the opposite direction to the motion, θ is 180 degrees and cos θ is -1, so the work done is the negative product of the force and the distance.

When multiple forces are acting on an object, you need to calculate the work done by each force separately. For each force, you need to know the magnitude of the force, the distance over which it is applied, and the angle between the force and the direction of motion. Once you have calculated the work done by each force, you can add these values together to find the total work done.

Remember, the total work done on an object can be positive, negative, or zero. Positive work is done when the force is in the same direction as the motion, negative work is done when the force is in the opposite direction to the motion, and zero work is done when the force is perpendicular to the motion.