Potential energy is pretty steady, kinetic energy on the other hand changes with speed.

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Energy is having the capacity to preform work. The unit of measurement used to measure energy is called a Joule (J). When something is at rest that energy us stored in a form of energy called potential. When something or someone is moving that energy shifts to something called kinetic energy. So, if you have a bottle of ketchup on the table it has a whole bunch of stored energy. If that bottle were to begin to fall off the table, it would shift to kinetic energy.

Potential energy can be established by gravity. The rate at which gravity pulls something to the Earth create that energy. Objects that are elastic store energy as well. Springs, bows, rubber bands, and slingshots are examples of this. Potential energy can also be present in electric, nuclear and chemical forms as well. These worksheets will examine all these different forms of energy and how humans harvest this energy and use it to their benefit.

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Printable Kinetic and Potential Energy Worksheets

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What is Kinetic?

In physics, which is the branch of science that studies the nature and properties of matter and energy, kinetic energy is measured in joules (J).

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What is Kinetic? Questions

If the car that began to move after the collision then crashes into another car, that car, too, may begin to move, and so on, until all the kinetic energy is dissipated.

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What is Potential Forms?

Potential energy is the energy that exists in an object when it is not moving.

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QUESTIONS: What is Potential Forms?

Give an example of a moving object having potential energy.

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Gravitational Potential Energy

In the sixteenth century, a scientist named Galileo conducted an experiment with gravity. He dropped two objects from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

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QUESTIONS: Gravitational Potential Energy

Gravitational potential energy (GPE) comes from Earth's gravity. GPE is the potential energy that is stored in an object based on its mass and how far away it is from an object exerting a gravitational force.

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Elastic Potential Energy

An example of elastic potential energy is the trampoline, which consists of a flexible material that is fastened to a stationary frame by a series of springs.

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QUESTIONS: Elastic Potential Energy

When a person jumps in the air, what kind of energy do they have at the height of their jump?

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Chemical Potential Energy

There are many examples of chemical energy in our everyday lives. Even the food we eat is an example of chemical energy.

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QUESTIONS: Chemical Potential Energy

In an exothermic reaction, chemical energy is released or converted in the form of heat energy.

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Nuclear Potential Energy

It is the energy that holds particles like protons and neutrons together to form the nucleus of an atom.

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QUESTIONS: Nuclear Potential Energy

Explain what is released as heat and radiation during nuclear fission and fusion reactions.

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Mechanical Energy

"Work" occurs when a force acts on an object, causing that object to move, change shape, or in some way be displaced.

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QUESTIONS: Mechanical Energy

An example of mechanical energy can be seen when you use that same hammer to drive a nail into a block of wood.

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Electrical Energy

We also use the word electromagnetism to describe how a magnetic field is made by the flow of electric current.

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QUESTIONS: Electrical Energy

How can we cause the energy that exists in electrons to generate electrical energy (electricity) that we can use?

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Thermal Energy

Thermal energy is a type of kinetic energy because it comes from the vibration of molecules.

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QUESTIONS: Thermal Energy

There are three ways that thermal energy can be transferred from one molecule to another: convection, conduction, and radiation.

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Radiant Energy and Sound Energy

Radiant energy is energy made up of very small particles called photons which travel in electromagnetic waves.

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QUESTIONS: Radiant Energy and Sound Energy

What are some examples of visible waves of light?

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