A five-year-old and her father each lifting identical chairs from the floor to a table top. Which person did the most work?

To determine who did the most work in the scenario described, it is crucial to understand the concept of work in physics, which is defined as the product of force and the distance over which that force is applied.

In this case, both the five-year-old and her father are lifting identical chairs from the floor to the same height of a table. Assuming they lift the chairs the same distance and with the same force (weight of the chairs), they both perform an equal amount of work. Work is calculated using the formula:

Work = Force x Distance.

Since the chairs are identical, they exert the same gravitational force and lift them the same vertical distance to the table. Thus, the total work done by both individuals is identical, which leads to the conclusion that they both did the same amount of work.

This illustrates that factors such as the size, strength, or age of the person lifting do not influence the amount of work done as long as the parameters of force and distance are consistent.