Power is defined as what?

Power is defined as what?

• A. Rate of doing work or rate of expending energy
• B. Total energy consumed per day
• C. Force applied over distance
• D. Mass times acceleration

Answer: (A)

Power is the rate at which work is done or energy is expended. This means it measures how quickly energy is used, not just how much energy there is. The unit is the watt, which is one joule per second. So if you lift a weight and do work in a short time, you’re delivering more power than if you did the same amount of work more slowly. In engines and machines, higher power means more work done per second. The other ideas describe energy or work, not the speed of doing work: total energy consumed over a period is energy, not power; force applied over distance equals work; mass times acceleration is force.

Power is the rate at which work is done or energy is expended. This means it measures how quickly energy is used, not just how much energy there is. The unit is the watt, which is one joule per second. So if you lift a weight and do work in a short time, you’re delivering more power than if you did the same amount of work more slowly. In engines and machines, higher power means more work done per second.

The other ideas describe energy or work, not the speed of doing work: total energy consumed over a period is energy, not power; force applied over distance equals work; mass times acceleration is force.