Answer
Energy is the capacity to do work. Potential energy is the energy inherent in position. This means that a ball on a table in the 12th floor of a building has more potential energy than the same ball on the same table in the fourth floor of the same building. The unit of energy is a joule
Kinetic energy is the energy of movement. An athletic track star running a race, a car moving in the Indy 500, and a baseball thrown by a pitcher all demonstrate kinetic energy.
Intact chemical bonds have a kind of potential energy, but when bonds are broken in catabolic reactions, kinetic energy is liberated.
Work Step by Step
Energy is the capacity to do work. Potential energy is the energy that an object has because of its position relative to another object. For example, an object at the top of a stairs has greater potential energy than an object near the foot of the stairway. Some kinds of potential energy are gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy and intermolecular potential energy. A person standing at the top of a stairs, or water in a dam has gravitational potential energy; the potential energy of a spring or of a drawn bow is elastic potential energy; the the energy of of unbroken chemical bonds is intermolecular potential energy.
The formula for potential energy is PE=mgh where m stands for mass(kg), h stands for height in meters, and g represents the acceleration due to gravity.
Kinetic energy is the energy that is acquired by a person or an object in motion. Hussain Bolt running the 100 meters, a cyclist riding in the Tour de France race, or a baseball hurtling towards you at 90 mph are all demonstrations of kinetic energy. The formula for kinetic energy is KE=1/2 mv2 (i.e 1/2mv squared) where m means mass in kilograms,and v means velocity in meters per second
The unit of kinetic energy is a joule which is equal to 1 kilogram-meter squared per second squared. When chemical bonds are broken in metabolic reactions, kinetic energy is released.
