What is power?

What is power?

• A. A force applied over time
• B. The rate of doing work
• C. The amount of energy transferred
• D. The energy stored in an object

Answer: (B)

Power is the rate at which work is done or energy is transferred. It tells you how quickly energy moves from one form or object to another. By definition, average power equals work divided by time: P = W / t. If the force acts in the direction of motion, instantaneous power is P = F · v, meaning power depends on both how hard you push and how fast you move. The unit is the watt, with 1 watt meaning 1 joule of energy transferred per second. This is different from the total amount of energy transferred, which is the work done, and from a force or stored energy. For example, pushing a box the same distance at two different speeds involves the same total energy transferred, but the faster push delivers energy more quickly, so the power is greater.

Power is the rate at which work is done or energy is transferred. It tells you how quickly energy moves from one form or object to another. By definition, average power equals work divided by time: P = W / t. If the force acts in the direction of motion, instantaneous power is P = F · v, meaning power depends on both how hard you push and how fast you move. The unit is the watt, with 1 watt meaning 1 joule of energy transferred per second.

This is different from the total amount of energy transferred, which is the work done, and from a force or stored energy. For example, pushing a box the same distance at two different speeds involves the same total energy transferred, but the faster push delivers energy more quickly, so the power is greater.