If a car of mass 1200 kg is moving along a highway at 120 km/h, what is the car’s kinetic energy as determined by someone standing alongside the highway?
After converting the speed: v = 120 km/h = 33.33 m/s , we find
K=\frac{1}{2}\, m v^2=\frac{1}{2}(1200 \,kg )(33.33 \,m / s )^2=6.67 \times 10^5 \,J .