A hotel porter carries a suitcase that weighs 250 N up a flight of stairs 8 m in height - Junior Cycle Science - Question a - 2016

To calculate the work done by the porter, we can use the formula:

$W = F imes d$

where:

• $W$ is the work done (in joules),
• $F$ is the force (in newtons) exerted by the porter,
• $d$ is the distance (in meters) moved in the direction of the force.

In this case, the force exerted by the porter is the weight of the suitcase, which is 250 N, and the distance is 8 m (the height of the stairs). Therefore, we can substitute these values into the formula:

$W = 250 ext{ N} imes 8 ext{ m}$

Calculating this gives:

$W = 2000 ext{ N m (J)}$

Thus, the total work done by the porter is 2000 joules.