Thermodynamics: Total Energy. As mentioned earlier total energy is the sum of all of the energies acting on and within the system. So that would mean the total energy of a system if the internal energy, kinetic energy, and potential energy of the system was known would be represent by equation 1.
How can you determine the total energy of an object?
An object held at a given height above the ground has an initial potential energy. When it is dropped, it gains kinetic energy. The total energy of the object is then used to find the velocity when the object hits the ground. You can calculate the PE, KE and total energy (TE) for an object that is dropped.