Asked by qp

A person moves a book from a 30-cm high coffee table to the top shelf of a bookshelf approximately 2.5 m high. Which statement correctly describes the gravitational potential energy of the book?

It has more gravitational potential energy on the table than on the shelf.

It has more gravitational potential energy on the shelf than on the table.

Its gravitational potential energy is constant regardless of its position.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
It has more gravitational potential energy on the shelf than on the table.

Reason: gravitational potential energy relative to the same reference (e.g. the floor) is U = mgh, so increasing height h (from 0.30 m to ≈2.5 m) increases U. (Only energy differences matter; absolute U depends on your chosen zero level.)