Kinetic and Potential Energy Worksheet

All 24 examples

Kinetic energy 12

a car driving down a road If the driver brakes, the car's kinetic energy is turned into heat by friction.
a cyclist on a flat road On level ground a cyclist keeps up speed with little more work.
a hockey puck sliding on ice Friction slowly turns its kinetic energy into heat.
a marble rolling on the floor Light and slow, so its kinetic energy is small, but it is not zero.
a moving train A heavy thing in motion carries more kinetic energy than a light one at the same speed.
a rolling bowling ball The faster it rolls, the more kinetic energy it has.
a running dog Anything in motion has kinetic energy, living or not.
a skateboard rolling along It took energy to get it moving, and it gives that energy up as it slows.
a spinning top Turning on the spot is motion too.
blowing wind Wind is moving air, an example of motion energy.
the turning blades of a fan Each blade is in motion as it goes around.
waves rolling onto a beach The motion of waves is kinetic energy.

Show all 24 examples (12 more)

Potential energy 12

a book on a high shelf Gravitational: lifting the book stored the energy, and a fall would release it.
a compressed spring Elastic: the energy is stored by the squeeze.
a drawn bow Elastic: the archer's pull is stored in the bent bow until the string is let go.
a log of firewood Chemical: a fire turns it into heat.
a lump of coal Chemical: the energy of a fossil fuel stays stored until the fuel burns.
a new battery Chemical: a battery stores its energy in the chemicals inside it.
a rock at the edge of a cliff Gravitational: more height or more weight would mean more stored energy.
a sled waiting at the hilltop Gravitational: on the way down the stored energy turns into motion.
a slice of bread Chemical: food is a store of chemical energy.
a stretched rubber band Elastic: the energy is stored by the stretch.
a tank of gasoline Chemical: a car's engine burns it.
water held behind a dam Gravitational: the water is held high and can run down through a turbine.

How this list was compiled: List chosen for this site on 2026-10-15. Kinetic energy is the energy an object has due to its motion; potential energy is stored energy and the energy of position (the English Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/, whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: Kinetic energy and Potential energy; the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Forms of energy, https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/what-is-energy/forms-of-energy.php). Each example stands under one heading only and was checked that day against those pages. The Energy Information Administration page names compressed springs and stretched rubber bands (stored mechanical energy), batteries, coal, petroleum and wood (chemical energy), an object's height and water for hydropower (gravitational energy), wind and moving objects (motion energy) and the motion of waves. The Wikipedia article Potential energy gives the drawn bow, the book lifted onto a table and water kept behind a dam; Kinetic energy gives the cyclist on a level surface, braking and the roller coaster; Chemical energy gives batteries, food and gasoline. For the answers under the tool: the Wikipedia articles Kinetic energy (the roller coaster), Mechanical energy (the swinging pendulum) and Roller coaster. Left out: anything that is moving and high up at once, such as a bird in flight or a falling apple, which has both kinds. Licence: own work

How it works

This kinetic and potential energy worksheet prints ten everyday examples, such as a rolling bowling ball, a stretched rubber band and a new battery, above two headings: Kinetic energy and Potential energy. Pupils write each one under its heading. A key is the last page.

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Where each is greatest on a hill and on a swing

A roller coaster car has the most potential energy at the top of its highest hill and the most kinetic energy at the bottom, where it is fastest. A swing behaves like a pendulum: potential energy is greatest at the two ends of the arc, where the swing stops for an instant, and kinetic energy is greatest at the lowest point.

Nothing on the sheet is both moving and high up, so every example has one answer.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between kinetic and potential energy?

Kinetic energy is the energy of motion: anything that moves has it, and more of it the faster it goes. Potential energy is stored energy, held in an object's height, in a stretch or a squeeze, or in a fuel, a food or a battery.

What are the types of potential energy?

The list under the tool has three. Gravitational potential energy comes from height. Elastic potential energy is stored in something stretched, squeezed or bent. Chemical potential energy is stored in fuels, food and batteries. A fourth kind, nuclear, is held in the nuclei of atoms.

Can an object have kinetic and potential energy at the same time?

Yes. A roller coaster car halfway down a hill is moving and is still above the ground, so it has both. As it drops, potential energy turns into kinetic energy, and their sum stays the same apart from what friction and air drag take.

Is there a kinetic and potential energy worksheet for 3rd grade, 4th grade or 5th grade?

This page serves all three: no grade is printed on the sheet, and it asks for no formula. Each example is sorted by one question: is it moving, or is it holding still with energy stored?