Homework Help: College Physics

Posted by HP on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 11:51am.

an escalator carries you from one level to the next in the airport terminal. the upper level is 4.5 m above the lower level, and the length of the escalator is 7 m. your mass is 60 kg.

how much work does the up escalator do on you when you ride it from the lower level to the upper level?

how much work does the does the down escalator do on you when you ride it from the upper level to the lower level?

College Physics - HP, Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 11:54am
the answer for the first is 2600 J and the second is -2600 J. i just don't know how to get there!
College Physics - bobpursley, Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 12:04pm
work=force dot distance where dot means the dot product. Dot product means the component in the same direction. Here force is mg, so the distance in that direction is 4m

Notice in the second, the movement is downward, gravity is doing the work, the escalator is absorbing it, hence the negative sign.

Answer this Question

Related Questions

chemistry - Using a periodic table, determine the number of electrons held in ...
Physics - A person climbs from a Paris metro station to the street level by ...
Physics - A person climbs from a Paris metro station to the street level by ...
Physics - A 86.0-kg man is riding an escalator in a shopping mall. The escalator...
math - An escalator moves down at the rate of 60 steps per minute. Alan can walk...
Science ENGR - Consider a laser which emits photons with a wavelength of 1.55 ...
math - n (level 0) = 1 n (level 1) = 4 n (level 2) = 13 n (level 3) = 27 what is...
English - * Approach level, On level, Beyond level (What are the meanings of the...
Physics - Water is moving with a speed of 5.0 m/s through a pipe with a cross-...
chemistry - help needed in drawing the diagram to show how hydrogen has numerous...

For Further Reading

First Name:
School Subject:
Answer: