Which term describes "The capacity to do work"?

• A. The speed of an object in a particular direction.
• B. The force applied to a unit area of surface.
• C. The capacity to do work.
• D. The amount of time in minutes, hours, seconds.

Answer: (C)

The key idea is energy—the capacity to do work. Energy is what enables a force to move something through a distance or to cause any change; it can be stored (potential energy) or in motion (kinetic energy), as well as in chemical, thermal, electrical forms, and more. When energy is used to move or change something, work is performed. So describing the capacity to do work directly points to energy.

The other terms don’t capture that ability. Speed describes how fast something moves, but not its potential to do work. Pressure is force per area, a different physical quantity. Time is a measure of duration, not the ability to perform work.