As the angle between the direction of the applied force and the direction of movement increases from zero to ninety degrees, the fraction of the force that contributes to the work decreases.
To understand this concept, let's consider the work done by a force. The work done by a force can be calculated using the formula:
Work = Force * Distance * cos(θ),
where θ is the angle between the force vector and the displacement vector.
When the angle θ is zero degrees (or very close to zero), the force is directly applied in the direction of movement. In this case, the entire force contributes to the work done, and the cosine of 0° is equal to 1.
As the angle θ increases towards 90 degrees, the force vector becomes more perpendicular to the direction of movement. In this scenario, the cosine of θ decreases, resulting in a smaller fraction of the force contributing to the work. When the angle θ is 90 degrees, the force is applied perpendicular to the direction of movement, and the cosine of 90° is 0. Therefore, no work is done by the force on the object in this situation.
In summary, as the angle between the direction of the applied force and the direction of movement increases from zero to ninety degrees, the fraction of the force that contributes to the work decreases gradually.