Work and Power Calculator
Calculate the work done by a force acting over a distance and the average power — enter the force, displacement, the angle between them, and the time taken.
N
m
°
s
W = F × d × cos θ = 100 × 10 × cos(0°)
- 1
Angle in radians
0° × π ÷ 180 = 0 - 2
cos θ
cos(0 rad) = 1 - 3
Work done
100 × 10 × 1 = 1,000W = F × d × cos θ — only the force component along the displacement does work.
How does this calculator work?
Work equals force times displacement times the cosine of the angle between them: W = F × d × cos θ. Power equals work divided by time: P = W / t. At θ = 0° all force contributes; at 90° none does. Enter force (N), distance (m), angle and time (s) to get joules and watts instantly.
Formula
How this is calculated
Mechanical work is the product of force, displacement, and the cosine of the angle between the force direction and the direction of motion: W = F × d × cos θ. The cosine factor accounts for the fact that only the component of force parallel to the displacement contributes to work. When the force and motion are in the same direction (θ = 0°), cos θ = 1 and all of the force does work. At θ = 90° the force is perpendicular to motion and does no work — like a centripetal force on an object moving in a circle.
Average power is the rate at which work is done: P = W / t. A higher power means the same amount of work is completed in less time. Power in watts equals joules per second. The vector diagram shows the force vector and the displacement vector from the same origin so you can see the angle between them.
The calculation assumes a constant force applied over the full displacement. In practice, forces often vary with position, requiring integration over the path. The result is also the work done by the specified force alone, not the net work on the object — other forces such as friction may also do work and must be accounted for separately.
Frequently asked questions
Work is measured in joules (J). One joule equals the work done when a force of one newton displaces an object one metre in the direction of the force. 1 J = 1 N·m.
When the angle between force and displacement is greater than 90°, cos θ is negative, so the work done by that force is negative. This occurs when a force opposes motion — for example, friction decelerating an object does negative work on it.
Work measures the total energy transferred by a force over a displacement (joules). Power measures how quickly that work is done (watts = joules per second). Two engines can do the same total work but at different power levels if one finishes in half the time.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Work and Power Calculator [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/work-and-power-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Work and Power Calculator." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/work-and-power-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Work and Power Calculator," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/work-and-power-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_work_and_power_calculator, title = {Work and Power Calculator}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/work-and-power-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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