What is kinetic and potential energy?
Kinetic energy is energy due to motion and potential energy is energy due to position in a force field. The formula for translational kinetic energy is KE = 0.5*m*v^2, where m is mass and v is velocity. The most common type of potential energy is gravitational potential energy, and near the surface of the Earth (or some other planetary body) the formula is PE = mgh, where m is mass, g is acceleration due to gravity, and h is the height above the surface. Another common one is elastic potential energy in a compressed spring. In that case the formula is PE = 0.5*k*x^2, where k is the spring constant and x is the compression. An object can also have electrical potential energy, if it has an electrical charge and is positioned some distance from another charge.
