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8th grade Stored (potential) energy worksheet

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Stored (potential) energy

Grade 8 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

  1. Ari lifts a 2 kg bag up a staircase, and it gains 120 J of stored energy. With g = 10 N/kg, how high was it lifted?

  2. A 5 kg box is lifted onto a loading dock and gains 150 J of stored energy, Bo reads. With g = 10 N/kg, how high was it lifted?

  3. A pulley raises a 3 kg bucket for Esme's tree house, giving it 240 J of stored energy. With g = 10 N/kg, how high was it lifted?

  4. Jun moves a box to half the height, then adds a second identical box on top. How does the stored energy compare?

    • It doubles: the load is heavier
    • It is zero: the boxes are still
    • It is the same as before
    • It halves: height is what counts
  5. A 3 kg pot sits on a 2 m shelf and a 2 kg pot on a 3 m shelf. Which stores more energy, Kira?

    • The pot on the 3 m shelf
    • Neither, since both are still
    • They store the same
    • The 3 kg pot
  6. Read this first

    Three objects on shelves (example data)

    objectmass (kg)height (m)
    P16
    Q31
    R24
  7. Luz's table lists three objects on shelves. Which stores the most energy from gravity?

    • They are the same
    • P, the highest one
    • Q, the heaviest one
    • R
  8. Milo says a book on a high shelf has no energy because it isn't moving. Agree or disagree?

    • Agree: energy needs motion
    • Disagree: it stores energy from its height
    • Disagree: books make heat
    • Agree: it gets energy once thrown
  9. Noah throws a ball straight up. A friend says it stores the most energy just as it leaves the hand, where it is fastest. Agree or disagree?

    • Disagree: nothing is stored while moving
    • Disagree: it stores the most at the top
    • Agree: the hand gives it stored energy
    • Agree: fastest means the most stored
  10. Pia holds a stretched band still and says it has energy only once it is let go. Agree or disagree?

    • Disagree: it stores sound energy
    • Disagree: it already stores elastic energy
    • Agree: it gets energy from moving
    • Agree: still things have no energy
  11. Zee lets a swing go and waits until it stops. What happened to the 300 J?

    • It turned back into the push
    • It became 300 J of thermal energy
    • It ran out and is gone
    • It is still stored in the swing
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8th grade Stored (potential) energy worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Stored (potential) energy. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can find stored energy from height with PE = m × g × h (g rounded to 10 N/kg), and work back to the height.
  • I can say what stores energy: height, stretch or squeeze, and magnets or charges held apart.
  • I can follow stored energy as it moves to motion energy and to heat, with the total staying the same.

Standard: MS-PS3-2

Words to know

potential (stored) energy: Energy an object has because of its position, stretch or squeeze

gravitational stored energy: Stored energy from height above the ground

elastic stored energy: Stored energy in something stretched or squeezed

joule (J): The unit of energy

g: Gravity's pull on each kilogram: about 9.8 N/kg, rounded here to 10

energy store: A place energy is kept: stored, motion, thermal

Common mistakes

Your child multiplied mass by height and left out gravity. Say the rule together: stored energy is mass times g times height.

Your child put a ½ into the stored-energy rule. The ½ belongs to motion energy (½mv²); stored energy from height is m × g × h.

Your child mixed up stored energy and motion energy.

What to say

Ask: is this energy from where it is (height, stretch) or from how fast it moves?

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with stored (potential) energy?

Your child multiplied mass by height and left out gravity. Say the rule together: stored energy is mass times g times height.

Are these 8th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

More grade 8 science

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