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What is Kinetic Energy?
Every object can be either in a state of rest or motion. Kinetic energy is the amount of energy that an object carries due to movement.
If you drill down further into the definition, it is the effort needed to bring an object into a state of motion from a state of rest or vice versa. If a piece of stone needs 120 joules of energy from getting into motion from a state of rest, this would be the value of kinetic energy. When does the kinetic energy value change? The kinetic energy of an object remains constant until its speed increases or decreases.
Kinetic Energy Formula
The formula of kinetic energy is given as follows.
Kinetic Energy \(= 0.5 mv^2\)
The following terms have been used in the formula mentioned above.
M = Mass of the object
V = Velocity at which the object is moving
Interpretation of the formula
Kinetic energy is defined as the amount of energy required to change the state of an object from stationary to motion. It depends on the mass and velocity of the object. An object which has a mass of 120kg would have a greater KE than one than has a mass of 100kg. This is simply because more force will be applied to move the object. Here, you need to understand that as compared to the mass, a much smaller change in velocity can bring major changes in KE as the value is whole squared.
Relationship between KE and PE
Kinetic energy is the amount of energy that a moving object has due to its motion. On the other hand, the definition of potential energy is different. Potential energy is the exertion of the gravitation force on an object. In other words, potential energy is the energy that an object has due to the position that it is in.
When you talk about the relationship between KE and PE, a direct one does not exist. However, the total energy of an object (also called mechanical energy) is the sum of KE and PE. In terms of the equation, this is written as.
Total Energy \(= \text{KE + PE}\)
According to the above equation, the total energy of a product is the sum of kinetic and potential energy. In other words, the total energy is the sum of energy of an object in motion and the energy due to gravitational pull. If an object requires the energy of 10 Joules to get into motion and an energy of 12 Joules is applied to it when it is falling from a height, the total energy would be 22 Joules.
How to calculate Kinetic Energy?
In order to understand the calculation process of Kinetic Energy, let us reconsider the formula mentioned above.
KE \(= 0.5 \times m \times v^2\)
Consider that there is a metal ball with mass 50 kg and velocity 10 m/s
To start with, let us insert these values in the formula mentioned above.
KE \(= 0.5 \times 50 \times (10)^2\)
KE \(= 0.5 \times 50 \times 100\)
KE = \(2500 \text{Joules}\)
It is important to understand that Kinetic Energy increases with the increase in mass as well as velocity. An object with more weight would require more KE to travel at the same velocity. If an object A has a mass of 100 kg and object B has a mass of 120 kg, the KE of object B would be more than object A if it has to travel at the same velocity. This is simply because the mass of object B is more than object A. Thus, more energy is needed.
Change in Kinetic Energy
The change in Kinetic Energy is another term for work done. In other words, the work done in a particular system is denoted by the change in Kinetic Energy. As a mathematical interpretation, this concept is explained as follows.
Change in KE \(= \text{KE}_2 - \text{KE}_1\)
In the above equation, three types of kinetic energies are involved for calculation purposes. The energy that is needed to move an object for a particular length of distance and a specific duration is called transitional KE. However, this is not the only form of KE involved in determining the change. There is a concept called Rotational KE. This kinetic energy is related to the object moving around a specific axis. Similarly, the third type of KE is called Vibrational KE. This kinetic energy is the count required when an object moves around the equilibrium position. When the change in KE has to be determined, all forms of kinetic energy are incorporated.
Units of KE
Multiple units are used for kinetic energy. Some of them are listed as follows.
• Joules
• Calorie
• Foot Pound
These units are interconvertible and the value of KE can be converted from one unit to the other.
For instance, consider that the value of KE is 30 joules and the value has to be converted to foot-pounds.
The conversion is given as
\(1 \text{Joule} = 0.737 \text{foot pounds}\)
Hence, for 30 joules, the value of KE would be given as
KE \(= 30 \times 0.737\)
KE \(= 22.11\)
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