For a fixed force and endpoint displacement , the line integral reduces to a dot product:
Here is the angle between the force and the displacement. For straight motion, is also the distance traveled. A force acting along a displacement does of work. Turning the same force perpendicular to the displacement gives and zero work; reversing it gives and . At , the work is . These signs describe energy transferred to or from the moving body. [ref]
Figure 1.
Work from parallel, perpendicular, and opposing forces
. Each left panel shows a force and a rightward displacement. Each right panel plots the along-path force component against distance; its signed area is the work: , , or . The arrows compare directions; their lengths do not compare quantities with different units. The three panels prescribe motion to illustrate work; they are separate cases, not successive stages of one journey. Details.

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