Energy is defined as:

Energy is defined as:

• A. Ability of an object to do work
• B. Rate at which work is done
• C. Force exerted over distance
• D. Power output of the engine

Answer: (A)

Energy is the capacity to do work. It describes how much work can be performed by a system, such as kinetic energy in a moving object or potential energy in a stretched spring. Work is the transfer of energy when a force moves an object through a distance. Power is the rate at which that work occurs—how quickly energy is transformed. An engine’s power output measures power, not energy itself. So defining energy as the ability to do work best captures what energy is in physics.

Energy is the capacity to do work. It describes how much work can be performed by a system, such as kinetic energy in a moving object or potential energy in a stretched spring. Work is the transfer of energy when a force moves an object through a distance. Power is the rate at which that work occurs—how quickly energy is transformed. An engine’s power output measures power, not energy itself. So defining energy as the ability to do work best captures what energy is in physics.