Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Calculate work done using force and distance.
50.0000 J
In physics, work is done when a force moves an object over a distance. This tool calculates work from force and distance.
Enter force (newtons) and distance (meters). Work appears instantly in joules (J).
Work = Force × Distance
(Assumes the force acts in the same direction as the motion.)
The result is the energy transferred to an object by a force acting along its path. One joule is small: lifting a typical apple a meter or so takes roughly one joule. Because the calculator simply multiplies the two numbers you type, the answer is only as meaningful as the force value you supply. The most common source of error is not the arithmetic but deciding which force to use.
Suppose you pull a crate along a level floor with a steady 40 N of force over 3 m. If the force were perfectly parallel to the floor, the calculator gives 40 × 3 = 120 J. Now imagine the rope is held at 30 degrees above horizontal. Only the horizontal component of your pull moves the crate forward, and that component is 40 × cos(30°), about 34.64 N. The work is then about 34.64 × 3 = 103.92 J. To reproduce this with the tool, first work out the component yourself (for example with a scientific calculator set to degrees), then enter 34.64 as the force. The tool itself does not take an angle, which is why the page notes that it assumes the force and motion are aligned.
Work can be positive, zero or negative, and the calculator will show all three because it does not restrict the sign of either input. Positive work means the force helps the motion and adds energy to the object. Negative work means the force opposes the motion, as friction or braking does, and takes energy away. Zero work happens when the force is perpendicular to the motion or when the object does not move at all. Holding a heavy box still, for example, feels tiring but does no work in the physics sense, because the distance is zero. This is a frequent source of confusion for students.
Work is closely tied to energy through the work-energy theorem: the net work done on an object equals its change in kinetic energy. If a net force does 50 J of work on an object that started at rest, it ends with 50 J of kinetic energy. You can check that relationship by feeding the resulting energy into the Kinetic Energy Calculator on this site. Work also feeds into power: dividing the joules by the time taken gives watts, which is what the Power Calculator does. Results are shown to four decimal places, so very small or very large inputs may look more precise than your real measurements are.
The SI unit of energy/work -- one joule is the work done by one newton of force over one meter of distance.
Only the component of force in the direction of motion does work -- this calculator assumes they're already aligned.
Yes. The tool multiplies whatever numbers you enter, so a negative force or negative distance produces negative work, which means energy is removed from the object, as with friction slowing it down.
Because work requires movement in the direction of the force. With zero distance, the product is zero, even though your muscles still use metabolic energy to hold the weight.
No. It only multiplies force by distance. To account for friction, enter the net force that actually acts along the motion, or calculate the friction work separately.
Multiply the force by the cosine of the angle between the force and the direction of motion, then enter that component as the force value.
Reference: NIST Weights and Measures