Kinetic and Potential Energy Worksheet
Kinetic and Potential Energy Worksheet
Classify the following as a type of potential energy or kinetic energy (use the letters K or P)
1. A bicyclist pedaling up a hill __K___ 6. The wind blowing through your hair __K___
2. An archer with his bow drawn _P____ 7. Walking down the street __K___
3. A volleyball player spiking a ball __K___ 8. Sitting in the top of a tree __P___
4. A baseball thrown to second base __K___ 9. A bowling ball rolling down the alley __K___
5. The chemical bonds in sugar __P___ 10. A bowling ball sitting on the rack ___P__
What examples can you find in your home that are examples of kinetic and potential energy? (name two for each type of
energy)
11. Kinetic: _______Washing Machine__________________________________________________
The greater the ___velocity__________________ of a moving object, the more __kinetic energy__________it has.
Solve the following word problems using the kinetic and potential energy formulas (Be sure to show your work!)
Formulas:
KE = 0.5 x m x v2 OR PE = m x g x h
15. You serve a volleyball with a mass of 2.1 kg. The ball leaves your hand with a speed of 30 m/s. The ball has
____KINETIC______________ energy. Calculate it and show your work.
16. A baby carriage is sitting at the top of a hill that is 21 m high. The carriage with the baby has a mass of 1.5 kg. The
carriage has _POTENTIAL________________ energy. Calculate it and show your work.
18. A cinder block is sitting on a platform 20 m high. It weighs 7.9 kg. The block has _____POTENTIAL_____
energy. Calculate it and show your work.
19. A roller coaster is sitting at the top of a 72 m hill and has 94646J. The coaster (at this moment) has
__POTENTIAL__________ energy. What is its mass? Calculate it and show your work.
20. There is a 19kg bell at the top of a tower that is storing 15745J of energy. The bell has
__POTENTIAL______________ energy. What is the height of the tower? Calculate it and show your work.
21. Determine the kinetic energy of a 1000-kg roller coaster car that is moving with a speed of 20.0 m/s.
22. If the roller coaster car in the above problem were moving with twice the speed, then what would be its new
kinetic energy?
23. A cart is loaded with a brick and pulled at constant speed along an inclined plane to the height of a seat-top. If the
mass of the loaded cart is 3.0 kg and the height of the seat top is 0.45 meters, then what is the potential energy of
the loaded cart at the height of the seat-top?
24. A 75-kg refrigerator is located on the 70 th floor of a skyscraper (300 meters above the ground) What is the
potential energy of the refrigerator?
25. The potential energy of a 40-kg cannon ball is 14000 J. How high was the cannon ball to have this much potential
energy?
The total amount of _____ENERGY_______________ is the __SAME___________ before and after any energy
transformation.