Question

At the top of a pole vault, an athlete actually can do work pushing on the pole before releasing it. Suppose the pushing force that the pole exerts back on the athlete is given by F(x) = (140 N/m )x - (190 N/m2 )x2 acting over a distance of 0.19 m .How much work is done on the athlete?

Answer 1

Answer:

The work done on the athlete is approximately 2.09 J

Explanation:

From the definition of the work done by a variable force:

$\displaystyle{\int_{x_i}^{x_j}F(x)dx}$

and substituting with the function of our problem:

$\displaystyle{\int_{0}^{0.19}(140x-190x^2)dx\approx2.09\mathrm{J}}$