I'd like to ask a question about work. The definition of work gives us a way to calculate the work done by a force along a path but in practice it's not always clear what path to take in consideration. Moreover, this fact that work is defined along a path is not taken in consideration when applying the conservation of energy. Could someone clarify this points?

I'd like to give an example to make my position clearer. There's a ball rolling of pure rolling down a slope (v=wR) with friction. I've been told that in this case friction doesn't make work because although the ball (the object on which friction is applied) is moving, the point of contact, where friction is applied, is not moving relative to the slope. This makes me think that I have a problem understanding the definition of work :)

I hope I was clear, thanks.

I'd like to ask a question about work. The definition of work gives us a way to calculate the work done by a force along a path but in practice it's not always clear what path to take in consideration. Moreover, this fact that work is defined along a path is not taken in consideration when applying the conservation of energy. Could someone clarify this points?

I'd like to give an example to make my position clearer. There's a ball rolling of pure rolling down a slope (v=wR) with friction. I've been told that in this case friction doesn't make work because although the ball (the object on which friction is applied) is moving, the point of contact, where friction is applied, is not moving relative to the slope. This makes me think that I have a problem understanding the definition of work :)