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Mission WE3 Kinetic and Potential Energy

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 The Question

TRUE or FALSE:
If an object has potential energy, then its kinetic energy is 0 J.

(Note: Your true-false statement is randomly chosen and may differ from the above statement.)

 Define Help

Definition of Kinetic Energy:
Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by an object due to its motion. If an object is moving, then it has kinetic energy. If an object has kinetic energy, then it is moving.

 Don't be Fooled

Many students confuse kinetic energy with potential energy. Such students gain the incorrect notion that if an object has potential energy, then it does not have kinetic energy (or vice versa). But don't be fooled! Such an idea is not correct. Objects can have both kinetic energy and potential energy at the same time. An object can be elevated above the ground (have potential energy) and be moving at the same time (and also have kinetic energy). A baseball, a plane, a flying bird are all simple examples of this.

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