Is mechanical kinetic energy or potential energy?

Answer 1

Potential energy is the energy that can be released, but has not been released yet.

Ex. Sitting at the top of a slide is potential energy. You will eventually have to go down.

Kinetic energy is the energy that is being released at any moment.

Ex. As you slide down the slide kinetic energy is released.

Answer 2

Potential energy is 'stored' energy, whereas kinetic energy is energy in motion. For example, if you hold a stone at the top of a mountain, that stone would have a much higher potential energy than one sitting in the bottom of the valley. When you drop that stone, the potential energy is transfered to kinetic energy. Mechanical energy is a special case of kinetic energy, for example: you turn a handle which turns a gear, which in turn turns another gear, etc, which winds a rope allowing a heavy weight to be lifted. All of this is energy of motion, but it is also related to the advantage gained by using one of the seven (if I remember correctly) simple machines, or any combination of simple machines (lever, wheel, pulley, wedge, etc).

Answer 3

It can be either.

-- A Bowling ball on a high shelf has considerable mechanical potential energy

-- If the ball rolls off of the shelf and falls to the floor, its potential energy

continually changes to kinetic energy all during the fall, and when it hits the

floor, its energy is all kinetic.

Answer 4

It can be either ... or both.