The correct answer is: It increases the kinetic energy.
Kinetic energy (KE) is given by the formula:
\[ KE = \frac{1}{2} mv^2 \]
where \( m \) is the mass of the object and \( v \) is its velocity. From this formula, you can see that if the mass \( m \) increases while the velocity \( v \) remains constant, the kinetic energy will also increase.