Question

What determines an object's potential energy? Distance and direction Height or width Mass and speed Position or composition

Answer 1

Answer with Explanation:

Potential energy of an object is defined as

         = Mass(m) × Acceleration due to gravity(g) × Height(H)

So, potential energy of an object Depend on these three factors.

If an object has less mass,it will travel more distance, and Higher the mass of an object Distance traveled will be Less if same force is applied in both the cases.

The value of g, at the center or on surface of earth is, 9.8 m/s², and as we move higher and higher value of g, decreases.

So, Apart from mass and height , the third factor which is ,Acceleration due to gravity(g), appears more important which totally depends where the object is lying with respect to earth.

Option D⇒ Position or composition is most Appropriate.

Answer 2

Mass, height and gravitational acceleration are the factors that determine an object's potential energy.

Further Explanation:

Potential energy

• Potential energy refers to energy that is stored in a body or an object. It is the energy due to the position of an object.
• Gravitational potential energy is the potential energy due to the position of an object on the surface of the earth.
• Potential energy is given by the formula, mgh; where m is the mass of the object, g is the gravitational acceleration and h is the height.

Factors affecting potential energy

Gravitational potential energy depends on the weight of the body and its height above the ground.

Weight of an object

• Weight of an object is the measure of gravitational pull of an object towards the earth's surface.
• It is given by the product of mass of the object and the gravitational acceleration. (Weight = mass × g )
• An object with more weight will have more potential energy while an object with less weight will have low potential energy.

Mass of an object

• Mass of an object determines the potential energy of an object as it determines it's weight.

Gravitational acceleration

• It also determines the potential energy of an object.
• For example, the gravitational acceleration on the earth's surface is greater than the gravitational acceleration on the surface of the moon.
• Therefore, an object on the surface of the earth will have higher [potential energy compared to the same object being on the surface of the moon.

Height of the object

• This is the measure of how high above the ground an object is.
• At higher heights objects have high potential energy while at lower heights objects have relatively low potential energy.

Keywords; Potential energy, factors affecting potential energy, gravitational acceleration, weight of an object, height of the object.

Learn more about:

• Potential energy: https://brainly.com/question/3076614
• Factors affecting potential energy: https://brainly.com/question/3482320
• Types of potential energy: https://brainly.com/question/2613612

Level: High school

Subject: Physics

Topic: Energy

Sub-topic: Potential energy