When calculating energies, you can have a bit of trouble with the seemingly daunting task.
However, what if someone told you it would only take your THREE steps to do it?
It’s possible, and many people do it every day in the Physics classroom and other professional environments.
They do this by using formulas.
To calculate KINETIC energy, the formula is: KE = .5mv^2.
This formula is very useful in Physics and is an essiential for your every day class. It’s half of mass multiplied by m/s squared. It gives you the kinetic energy in a quick, three step calculation.
To calculate POTENTIAL energy, the formula is: PE = mgh OR wh.
This formula is like this because since the formula for potential energy is weight times height, in order to get that, it depends on the gravity of the planet it’s on. To get weight you’d need to multiply mass by gravity, which is why there’s two variations of the formula that ultimately get you the same answer for potential energy.
Both of these three step formulas come in handy for me all the time. I hope they help you as well!
For The Physics 