Question

PLEASE HELP ME QUICK! ILL GIVE YOU 30 POINTS!!!

Your first call is from Lloyd from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He said, “Last night, I spent time reading my Science textbook. I was comfy on the couch and sat there reading with my cat in my lap for two hours. After I was done reading, I texted my friend, Carlos who said he didn’t do any reading. However, he claims he did more work lifting his textbook from the floor to the desk than I did reading mine. I disagree. How could that be possible? I mean, I sat there for 2 whole hours reading!!”

Purpose: Your purpose is to help end the disagreement between Lloyd and Carlos. Who did more work?

Writer’s Role: You are a Physics expert and radio show host of the popular show, “Physics or Not?”

Audience: Your audience is the listeners who are wondering who did more work: Lloyd or Carlos.

Answer 1

Answer: Thank you for your call, Lloyd from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I understand you had a disagreement with your friend Carlos regarding who did more work, with you reading your Science textbook for two hours and him lifting his textbook from the floor to the desk. As a Physics expert and radio show host of "Physics or Not?," I can shed some light on this issue.

The amount of work done is measured as force multiplied by distance. In this case, Carlos lifted his textbook from the floor to the desk, which required him to exert a force against gravity to move the textbook a certain distance. On the other hand, you were sitting on the couch reading your textbook with your cat in your lap. While you may have been mentally engaged, you did not exert any physical force or move any objects. Therefore, it is more likely that Carlos did more work than you did.

To put it into perspective, lifting a textbook from the floor to the desk requires an average force of around 10 Newtons, and if we assume Carlos lifted his textbook a distance of 0.5 meters, then he did about 5 Joules of work. On the other hand, you were just sitting on the couch, not exerting any force, and thus, no work was done.

In conclusion, while both reading and lifting a textbook require effort, they are two different types of work. Carlos did more physical work than you did by lifting his textbook from the floor to the desk. I hope this helps settle the disagreement between you and Carlos.

Step-by-step explanation: