Is acoustic energy kinetic or potential?

Answer 1

Sound is a wave in the air which is actually a compressive variation in the air pressure, at the frequency of the sound. So it involves movement of air molecules, and in that sense is kinetic. We usually talk of acoustic energy, which is related to the Sound Pressure Level, which is the physical effect being propogated.

Answer 2

Sound is the vibration of a medium (what it travels through, like air or a wall). As vibration is the movement of molecules, it is kinetic energy, as that is the energy of movement.

Additional information: all kinds of wave motion also include potential energy which is exchanged with kinetic energy during the cycle. When a sound wave goes through a small volume of air, it first has kinetic energy as it is moved and compressed, which gives it potential energy, and then it relaxes and moves back, which gives it kinetic energy again.