A man X goes to the top of a building by a vertical spiral staircase. Another man Y of the same mass goes to the top of the same building by a slanting ladder. Which of the two does more work against gravity and why?
Work done against gravity depends on the vertical distance through which the body is lifted and is independent of the path travelled to achieve the height. Therefore, we can say that both men did the same work as the vertical distance travelled by them is the same.