Which term describes energy stored due to an object's position?

Which term describes energy stored due to an object's position?

• A. Potential energy
• B. Kinetic energy
• C. Chemical potential energy
• D. Gravitational potential energy

Answer: (A)

Energy stored because of an object's position is called potential energy. It’s the kind of energy that sits there because of where something is or how it’s arranged, and it can do work if the situation changes. For example, a book perched on a shelf has gravitational potential energy—its height gives it the potential to do work if it falls. A stretched rubber band stores energy due to its stretched position, which is also potential energy. This differs from kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion. There are also specific kinds of potential energy, like gravitational potential energy (energy from height in a gravitational field) and chemical potential energy (energy stored in chemical bonds). But the general term that describes energy stored due to position is potential energy.

Energy stored because of an object's position is called potential energy. It’s the kind of energy that sits there because of where something is or how it’s arranged, and it can do work if the situation changes. For example, a book perched on a shelf has gravitational potential energy—its height gives it the potential to do work if it falls. A stretched rubber band stores energy due to its stretched position, which is also potential energy.

This differs from kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion. There are also specific kinds of potential energy, like gravitational potential energy (energy from height in a gravitational field) and chemical potential energy (energy stored in chemical bonds). But the general term that describes energy stored due to position is potential energy.