Calculating Force and Work for a Penguin Climbing up an Ice Slope

[Nick Tucker]

Homework Statement

Penguin has a mass of 26 kg.
It wants to get on top of a 2-meter tall ice cube.
Calculate the work needed to get to the top.

Relevant Equations

Force = Mass x Acceleration
Work = Force x Distance

Got a question from my science exam that I'm not sure how to figure it out. All the context I was given is attached.

My attempt:

Mass=26kg
26a = Force
Work = 26a x 2
Work = 52aNot sure how to figure it out, as 52a is the wrong answer.

 

[andrewkirk]

Here a represents the acceleration due to gravity, usually denoted by g. Have they taught you what that is? If not, internet-search it. Once you have the number, multiply it by 52 (or 52 kg m to be precise) to get the numeric answer they want, in joules (J), which is the unit for measuring energy or work.

 

[rudransh verma]

Here a represents the acceleration due to gravity, usually denoted by g. Have they taught you what that is? If not, internet-search it. Once you have the number, multiply it by 52 (or 52 kg m to be precise) to get the numeric answer they want, in joules (J), which is the unit for measuring energy or work.

But a cannot be equal to g. Here we need to find the force applied by the penguin to climb. We need to be given the acceleration with which it’s climbing the cube which is not given.

 

[Lnewqban]

But a cannot be equal to g. Here we need to find the force applied by the penguin to climb. We need to be given the acceleration with which it’s climbing the cube which is not given.

Unlike acceleration, work, which is energy, does not depend on time.

 

[haruspex]

Unlike acceleration, work, which is energy, does not depend on time.

Furthermore, if the penguin's motion is a steady upward acceleration of a it will finish with an upward velocity of $v=\sqrt{2ah}$, where h is the height achieved.
The work done will be the sum of that done to overcome gravity and that done to gain speed: $mgh+\frac 12 mv^2=mgh+mah$.
In questions like this, you have to suppose that either the acceleration is so small that negligible KE is achieved, or that the acceleration needed to start climbing is matched by deceleration at the end, so finishing with no KE.

 

[Lnewqban]

"Penguin has a mass of 26 kg.
It wants to get on top of a 2-meter tall ice cube.
Calculate the work needed to get to the top."

@rudransh verma , the problem asks us about the work done by the bird to increase its potential energy by forcing its mass of 26 kg to relocate 2 meters higher.
It needs to push downwards with an average force equivalent to its weight while climbing or jumping onto the top surface of the ice cube.

That weight, in Newtons, is the product of the bird's mass times the acceleration of gravity.
That weight times the height will give us the minimum amount of Newton-meters or Joules to be spent by the bird in this problem.
How quick the penguin reaches the top is not of concern to this problem.

Are you thinking of the initial acceleration needed for the bird to reach the top of the cube in a single jump?
If so, that would be equal to the acceleration of gravity if the bird wants to have zero vertical velocity when reaching the top.