Mechanical Energy Calculator (ME = KE + PE)
Mechanical Energy Calculator (ME = KE + PE)
Total mechanical energy is the sum of an object's kinetic energy (from motion) and potential energy (from height), and in the absence of friction or air resistance, it stays constant as one form converts into the other. Enter a mass, velocity, and height, and this calculator computes all three energies, shown alongside a graph of how kinetic and potential energy trade off as height changes.
- ME = KE + PE = ½mv² + mgh, so a 10 kg object moving at 5 m/s at 3 m height has ME = 125 + 294.3 = 419.3 J.
- This is the conservation of mechanical energy - as an object falls, its potential energy converts into kinetic energy (and vice versa when thrown upward), with the total staying constant if no energy is lost to friction or air resistance.
- The graph shows this trade-off directly - potential energy rises linearly with height while kinetic energy falls, always summing to the same total mechanical energy line.
How do I calculate total mechanical energy?
Add the kinetic energy (½mv²) and the potential energy (mgh): ME = ½mv² + mgh.
What is the mechanical energy of a 10 kg object moving at 5 m/s at a height of 3 m?
KE = 0.5×10×5² = 125 J, PE = 10×9.81×3 = 294.3 J, so ME = 125 + 294.3 = 419.3 J.
Mechanical Energy Calculator (ME = KE + PE)
Total mechanical energy is the sum of an object's kinetic energy (from motion) and potential energy (from height), and in the absence of friction or air resistance, it stays constant as one form converts into the other. Enter a mass, velocity, and height, and this calculator computes all three energies, shown alongside a graph of how kinetic and potential energy trade off as height changes.
- ME = KE + PE = ½mv² + mgh, so a 10 kg object moving at 5 m/s at 3 m height has ME = 125 + 294.3 = 419.3 J.
- This is the conservation of mechanical energy - as an object falls, its potential energy converts into kinetic energy (and vice versa when thrown upward), with the total staying constant if no energy is lost to friction or air resistance.
- The graph shows this trade-off directly - potential energy rises linearly with height while kinetic energy falls, always summing to the same total mechanical energy line.
How do I calculate total mechanical energy?
Add the kinetic energy (½mv²) and the potential energy (mgh): ME = ½mv² + mgh.
What is the mechanical energy of a 10 kg object moving at 5 m/s at a height of 3 m?
KE = 0.5×10×5² = 125 J, PE = 10×9.81×3 = 294.3 J, so ME = 125 + 294.3 = 419.3 J.