The gravitational potential energy is the work that a mass can potentially do by virtue of its position in a gravitational field. When the stone hits the nail, it does work by pounding the nail into the wood. When you drop the stone, gravity converts the potential energy into kinetic energy. You first lift the stone high above the nail, which increases the potential energy of the stone-Earth system-because Earth is so large, it does not move, so we usually shorten this by saying simply that the potential energy of the stone increases. For example, imagine you want to use a stone to pound a nail into a piece of wood. This kinetic energy can be used to do work. Point out that sometimes the reference position is at infinity, in which case this may not be explicitly stated.Īs you learned in studying gravity, a mass in a gravitational field has potential energy, which means it has the potential to accelerate and thereby increase its kinetic energy. In other words, a reference position is chosen, and all other potential energies are compared with the potential energy at the reference position. Remind students that gravitational potential energy is only meaningful when we deal with differences in energy. Review the concept of potential energy as being the potential an object has to do work by virtue of its position with respect to another object. Draw the analogy between this and potential energy. This section again uses the analogy between gravity and electric force to present electric potential energy and electric potential.Īsk students to define how potential is used in everyday life.
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