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A force acting entirely perpendicular to an object's displacement does how much work?
ANo work at all
BTwice the usual work
CHalf the usual work
DThe maximum work
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. No work at all
1. The direction of the force relative to the motion decides the work.
2. Energy transfer equals the work done by an external force.
3. That force must have a nonzero component parallel to the displacement.
4. A perpendicular force has no component parallel to the displacement.
5. So it does no work at all.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics for AP Courses 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 7 'Work, Energy, and Energy Resources', sections 7.1-7.9_
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