Question

What is the kinetic energy of the continent?

Answer 1

The mass of the North American continent, for instance, is estimated to be $2.35095\cdot10^{23}$  kg. It moves at the rate of 3.8 cm/year. The kinetic energy is

$$K=0.5(2.35095\cdot10^{23})\left(\frac{3.8}{100⋅365⋅3600 ​ }\right)^2=1706.74 \ J$$