Mechanical energy is of two types: kinetic and potential. Their sum is called total mechanical energy. Mechanical energy E gives a characteristic of the interaction of bodies. It is a function of relative position and speed.
Instructions
Step 1
To find the total mechanical energy, follow these steps. Determine kinetic energy. Identify potential energy. Add up the results.
Step 2
Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by a mechanical system, and which depends on the speeds of movement of its various points. Distinguish between kinetic energy of rotational or translational motion. The SI unit of energy is Joule. To find the kinetic energy, you need to use the formula: Ex = mv² / 2, where: Ek - kinetic energy, (J); m - body weight (kg); v - speed (m / s).
Step 3
The kinetic energy of the body under consideration, which moves with a speed υ, shows what work, in order to impart this speed to the body, the force acting on the body at rest must perform. To determine the potential energy, use the formula: Ep = mgh, where: Ep - potential energy, (J); g - acceleration due to gravity (m2); m - body weight (kg); h is the height of the center of mass of the body above an arbitrarily chosen level (m). Potential energy is a characteristic of the interaction of two or more bodies or a body and a field. Each physical system ideally tends to the position with the lowest or zero potential energy.
Step 4
If the kinetic energy can be determined for a single body, then the potential energy characterizes two or more bodies or the very position of the body in relation to the external field. Kinetic energy is characterized by speed; potential - by the mutual arrangement of bodies. Knowing the mass of the body, the speed of its movement, as well as the height of the center of mass, it will be easy to make the above calculations and calculate the components that make up the total energy of a single body.
