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Three forces are applied to three identical objects undergoing identical displacements. Which force does the most work, and why?

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Final answer:

The force that does the most work will be the one that is the largest in magnitude and is applied in the same direction as the displacement, as the work done depends on the magnitude of the force, the displacement of the object, and the angle between the force and displacement direction.

Step-by-step explanation:

The work done on an object is given by the equation Work = Force x Displacement x cos(theta), where theta is the angle between the force and the displacement. This means that the work done by a force on an object depends on the magnitude of the force, the displacement of the object, and the angle between the force and the displacement direction.

Since all objects are undergoing identical displacements, the only variable that differentiates the work done by each force is the magnitude of the force and the direction of the force. Therefore, the force that does the most work will be the one that is the largest in magnitude and is applied in the same direction as the displacement. If the force is applied in a direction perpendicular to the displacement, it does no work on the object because cos(90 degrees) = 0. Similarly, if the force is applied in the opposite direction to the displacement, it does negative work because cos(180 degrees) = -1.

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