Secret Lives Title - The Energy Story


The Ten Types
Kinetic Energy


Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. Any object that is moving has kinetic energy. This category of kinetic energy will be used when the energy is contained in the motion of a single object or in the motion of a group of objects that act as a single object.

Other types of energy are often classified as being a type of kinetic energy, since their energy is due to the motion, but there are more than one object involved.

Some of the most common examples of the energy of this type are:

Ball Moving Horizontally
Any single object that is moving has kinetic energy.
Wind
The wind is made up of air molecules. Even though there are many of these air molecules, energy of motion is contained in all of the molecules moving as a single mass of air.
Sound
Sound is the vibration or motion of air molecules moving back and forth. Again, these molecules act as a single mass of air.
The Kinetic Energy Equation
KE = 1/2 mv squared
This is the equation for calculating the kinetic energy of an object, where: m = mass (in kg), v = velocity (in m/s), and KE = kinetic energy (in J = joules). There is a direct relationship between KE and mass and between KE and v squared. Therefore as the mass goes up, KE goes up. And as v goes up, KE goes up.
You can find out more about KE, the KE equation, and how to sovlve simple KE problems by going to the following site: The Physics Classroom: Kinetic Energy