Question

A man pushes a lawn mower on a level lawn with a force of 250N. If 40% of this force is directed downward, how much work is done in joules by the man in pushing the mower 6.2 m?

Answer 1

When considering work, we always take the force directed along the axis of motion (in this case, the horizontal axis). If 40% of the force is directed downward, then 60% of the force is being directed horizontally, so the horizontal force is 250*0.6 = 150N. Work = Force * distance = 150N * 6.2m = 930J