Potential and Kinetic Energy

According to the dictionary, energy is the strength and vitality required for
sustained physical or mental activity. While in a book published by Phoenix
publishing house, energy is a power derived from the utilization of physical
or chemical resources, especially to provide light and heat or to work
machines. There are two main types of energy which is the kinetic energy
and potential energy.

Kinetic energy is the energy on motion. Any object that has motion is
kinetic energy.

The following equation is used to represent the kinetic energy (KE) of

an object.
KE = (1/2)mv2

where m = mass of object

v = speed of object

Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity because it has no direction. The

kinetic energy of an object is completely described by magnitude alone.
The standard metric unit of measurement for kinetic energy is the
Joule. 1 Joule is equivalent to 1 kg*(m/s)^2.
Examples (from physicsclssroom.com):
1. Determine the kinetic energy of a 625-kg roller coaster car that is
moving with a speed of 18.3 m/s.
KE = 0.5*m*v2
KE = (0.5) * (625 kg) * (18.3 m/s)2
KE = 1.05 x105 Joules
 2. If the roller coaster car in the above problem were moving with twice
the speed, then what would be its new kinetic energy?
If the speed is doubled, then the KE is quadrupled. Thus, KE =
4 * (1.04653 x 105 J) = 4.19 x 105 Joules.
or
KE = 0.5*m*v2
KE = 0.5*625 kg*(36.6 m/s)2
KE = 4.19 x 105 Joules
Another type of energy is the potential energy. Potential energy is a
result of gravity pulling downwards. The gravitational constant, g, is the
acceleration of an object due to gravity. This acceleration is about 9.8
meters per second on earth.
Electric Company Potential Kinetics (from classrooms.synonyms.com)
The electricity that fuels our homes is supplied by potential energy turned
kinetic, either in the form of an electric plant fueled by coal, a hydroelectric
dam, or other source such as solar cells. The coal is stored potential
energy at its most inert; it must be burned to translate itself into kinetic
energy. The water behind the dam is, despite its eddies and currents,
relatively inert as well, but it also supplies power when it is transformed by
flowing through the dam and transferring it kinetic energy. Switch on the
light. The switch's movement releases potential energy, while the light is
kinetic.
Gravitational potential energy is the energy stored in an object as the
result of its vertical position or height. Its equation is:

GPE = mass * g * height

GPE = m*g*h

Where "g" is the standard acceleration of gravity which equals

9.8 m/s2. The height is determined based on the height the
object could potentially fall. The height may be the distance
above the ground or perhaps the lab table we are working on.
 Example: What is the potential energy of a 2 kg rock
sitting at the top of a 10 meter high cliff?
GPE = mass * g * height
GPE = 2kg * 9.8 m/s2 * 10m
GPE = 196 J
Elastic potential energy is the energy stored in elastic materials as
the result of their stretching or compressing. Elastic potential energy can be
stored in rubber bands, bungee chords, trampolines, springs, an arrow
drawn into a bow, etc.

A force is required to compress a spring; the more compression there

is, the more force that is required to compress it further. For certain springs,
the amount of force is directly proportional to the amount of stretch or
compression (x); the constant of proportionality is known as the spring
constant (k).
Fspring = k • x
The equation is

PEspring = 0.5 • k • x2

where k = spring constant

x = amount of compression
(relative to equilibrium position)
Falling and Bouncing Balls (from classrooms.synonyms.co)
One of the best—and most frequently used—illustrations of potential and
kinetic energy involves standing at the top of a building, holding a baseball
over the side. Naturally, this is not an experiment to perform in real life. Due
to its relatively small mass, a falling baseball does not have a great amount
of kinetic energy, yet in the real world, a variety of other conditions (among
them inertia, the tendency of an object to maintain its state of motion)
conspire to make a hit on the head with a baseball potentially quite serious.
If dropped from a great enough height, it could be fatal.
When one holds the baseball over the side of the building, potential energy
is at a peak, but once the ball is released, potential energy begins to
decrease in favor of kinetic energy. The relationship between these, in fact,
is inverse: as the value of one decreases, that of the other increases in
exact proportion. The ball will only fall to the point where its potential
energy becomes 0, the same amount of kinetic energy it possessed before
it was dropped. At the same point, kinetic energy will have reached
maximum value, and will be equal to the potential energy the ball
possessed at the beginning. Thus the sum of kinetic energy and potential
energy remains constant, reflecting the conservation of energy, a subject
discussed below.
It is relatively easy to understand how the ball acquires kinetic energy in its
fall, but potential energy is somewhat more challenging to comprehend.
The ball does not really "possess" the potential energy: potential energy
resides within an entire system comprised by the ball, the space through
which it falls, and the Earth. There is thus no "magic" in the reciprocal
relationship between potential and kinetic energy: both are part of a single
system, which can be envisioned by means of an analogy.
Imagine that one has a 20-dollar bill, then buys a pack of gum. Now one
has, say, $19.20. The positive value of dollars has decreased by $0.80, but
now one has increased "non-dollars" or "anti-dollars" by the same amount.
After buying lunch, one might be down to $12.00, meaning that "anti-
dollars" are now up to $8.00. The same will continue until the entire $20.00
has been spent. Obviously, there is nothing magical about this: the 20-
dollar bill was a closed system, just like the one that included the ball and
the ground. And just as potential energy decreased while kinetic energy
increased, so "non-dollars" increased while dollars decreased.