Question

technician a says that work is performed anytime an object is moved. technician b says that work is performed anytime force is applied to an object. who is correct?

a. technician a

b. technician b

c. both technician a and technician b

d. neither technician a nor technician b

Explanation:

To determine who is correct, we recall the physics definition of work: Work ($W$) is done when a force ($F$) is applied to an object and the object moves a distance ($d$) in the direction of the force, given by $W = F \cdot d \cdot \cos(\theta)$, where $\theta$ is the angle between the force and displacement vectors.

• For Technician A: Moving an object doesn't guarantee work. If the force causing the movement is zero (e.g., an object moving at constant velocity with no net force), work isn't done. Also, if the displacement is perpendicular to the force (e.g., carrying an object horizontally while the force is vertical), work isn't done. So Technician A is incorrect.
• For Technician B: Applying a force alone isn't enough. If the object doesn't move (displacement $d = 0$), then $W = 0$ (no work is done). For example, pushing a wall with force but the wall doesn't move—no work is done. So Technician B is incorrect.

Since both Technician A and Technician B have incorrect definitions of work, neither is correct.

Answer:

d. Neither Technician A nor Technician B