Which form of energy is stored due to an object's position above Earth's surface?

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

Answer: (A)

Energy stored due to height in Earth's gravitational field is gravitational potential energy. This energy exists because gravity can do work on the object as it moves downward. The higher the object, the more work gravity can do to bring it down, so the stored energy increases with height, described near Earth's surface by U = mgh (mass times gravitational acceleration times height). This energy sits there until the object moves, and it can be converted to kinetic energy as the object falls.

Kinetic energy is the energy of motion, so it describes how much energy the object has while moving, not why it has energy just from being above the ground. Thermal energy relates to temperature and microscopic motion of particles, not position in a gravitational field. Chemical energy is stored in chemical bonds within substances, unrelated to where an object is in gravity.