Mistake Master
Mistake Master · AP Physics C · Unit 3 · Topic 3.5 · Step-Through Animation
Power Is How Fast, Not How Much
You'll learnthat power is the rate energy moves, not the amount of work done.
Two elevators, one load, two clocks — and only one of them changes. Power is the rate energy moves, not the amount: the area under a power-versus-time graph is the work, and the average is time-weighted, never the midpoint of the readings.
POWER LAB
Before you start
What you're looking at
Two elevators lifting identical loads to the same floor; the express finishes in half the local's time.
The question
Do the two elevators do the same work, and do they deliver the same power?
Watch for
Which of work or power stays the same. The load and height match; only the clock differs.
What the symbols mean
Right panel is a power-versus-time graph: height is the rate, area under it is the work (J).
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