Officer Aptitude Rating (OAR) Formulas Practice Test

Work is the transfer of energy that occurs when a force moves an object through a distance. The key relationship is W = F × d when the force acts in the same direction as the motion (more generally W = F × d × cos(theta)). That makes the product of force and distance the right choice. The other options don’t describe work: velocity times distance has incorrect units, distance divided by force has no physical meaning as work, and mass times velocity is momentum, not work. If the force isn’t perfectly along the path, only the component of the force in the direction of motion contributes, so you’d use F × d × cos(theta).