Kinetic Energy Calculator

How does this kinetic energy calculator work?

This is a useful tool that anyone can use to determine kinetic energy or the velocity or mass in this equation. It can be used by those in need to calculate something for physics or in various other settings. In order for the kinetic energy calculator to work you need to input any of the three components of the formula below.

For your convenience, each three has a series of measurement units you can choose from, for instance mass can be input in g, kg, pounds or ounces while velocity in m/s, m/h, km/s, km/h, ft/s or ft/h. The answers you can receive will also be explained in the series of units available for input so you know for sure what the result means.

The formula used is KE = m x v2 / 2

Where:

KE – kinetic energy in joules [J]

m – mass in kilograms [kg]

v – velocity in metres per second [m/s]

Example calculation

Let’s think of the case of an object with a mass of 150 kg moving at a velocity of 5 m/s. The kinetic energy equation will be:

KE = 150 x 5² / 2

and the result: “The kinetic energy for the above data is 1875 J. This is equal to:

• 1.875 kJ
• 0.520833333 watt hrs
• 0.00052083333333 kW hrs”

What is kinetic energy?

This is basically the energy of motion, meaning that any object moving, either on a vertical or horizontal axis, develops a  kinetic energy that depends on its mass and speed. Some of the forms ok KE that describe the magnitude of the movement include:

• Vibrational
• Translational
• Rotational

But the most used in the translational kinetic energy. The equation above can also be written as KE = 0.5 x m x v² to show the dependency on speed/ velocity and mass.

The fact that KE is directly proportional to the square of the speed shows that for a twofold speed increase, KE increases by a factor of four.

The standard international system for KE is the joule [J] equivalent to kg *(m/s)². But KE can also be defined by other units related to the joule such as kJ or watt hour.