What is the effect of an object's height on its potential energy?

Answer 1

The potential energy you mentioned is known as gravitational potential energy, which involves gravity. Gravity is a wonderful mechanism which acts like a rubberband.

Let say the object is you riding a bicycle. To climb a hill, you need to input your kinetic energy which is to pedal hardly to increase your altitude(height). When you are at the top of the hill(summit), you have the greatest gravitational potential energy.

What is the difference between you at the bottom of the hill and you at the top of the hill? The you at the summit has stored more energy in your mass, which can be converted only into kinetic energy when you roll down the hill.

Answer 2

An object's potential energy increases as its height increases. When an object is higher up it has the potential to fall farther thus creating more kinetic energy which means that it has a higher potential energy.

Answer 3

It raises proportionally to the increase in the height.

Since potential energy = mgh, changing the "h" would completely change the potential energy.

For instance if we look at g as 10 m/s^2 and m as 10kg:

The original height is 5m. (10kg)*(10m/s^2)*(5m)= 500J

If we double the height. (10kg)*(10m/s^2)*(10m)= 1000J

The potential energy is doubled

Answer 4

That is called gravitational potential energy. It is calculated by the formula:

GPE = mgh

That is, mass x gravity x height. If you want to use SI units, mass should be in kilograms, gravity in m/s2 (about 9.8 for normal Earth gravity), height in meters, and the answer will of course be in joules.

Answer 5

Generally, the higher an object goes, the higher its potential energy will be.

This is because higher object will have more energy when it falls.