What is potential energy?

What is potential energy?

• A. Stored energy
• B. Energy of motion
• C. Heat energy
• D. Electrical energy

Answer: (A)

Potential energy is energy stored because of an object's position or the arrangement of a system. It’s energy waiting to do work when the position changes—for example, a raised object has gravitational potential energy, and a stretched spring has elastic potential energy. This is different from energy of motion (kinetic energy), which is the energy something has while moving, and from heat energy, which comes from the random motion of molecules due to temperature. While electric fields can involve stored energy too, the everyday idea of potential energy is this stored energy tied to position or configuration that can be released to become motion.

Potential energy is energy stored because of an object's position or the arrangement of a system. It’s energy waiting to do work when the position changes—for example, a raised object has gravitational potential energy, and a stretched spring has elastic potential energy. This is different from energy of motion (kinetic energy), which is the energy something has while moving, and from heat energy, which comes from the random motion of molecules due to temperature. While electric fields can involve stored energy too, the everyday idea of potential energy is this stored energy tied to position or configuration that can be released to become motion.