A Primer on Work- Energy Relationships for Introductory Physics

able discussion in the educational community about different ways of relating the concepts of work and energy in introductory physics.1 The present article reviews a consistent and streamlined treatment of the subject, drawing particular attention to aspects seldom covered in textbooks. The paper is intended to clarify the central equations for introductory courses and to put the wider literature in context. It is specifically designed to tie closely in terminology and order of presentation to standard texts, so that it complements rather than supplants them. In brief, the key point is that there are two major categories of work, center-of-mass work and particle work.2 After an overview of these two approaches, I illustrate them with a couple of instructive examples that can be used in group problem-solving sessions in class.