Sharon and Bruce are playing basketball at a local park. When they take a break, they put the basketball on the brick wall that is near the bleachers. They notice that the basketball rolls off the wall and falls to the ground. This makes them think about a school lesson about energy. Fill in the blanks from their conversation.

Question

a. Sharon reminded Bruce that the basketball had energy as it fell. This energy of motion is called
______. Bruce agreed and said this energy of motion was ____ right before the ball hit the ground.

b. Then Bruce recalled that the ball originally had stored energy as it sat on the wall. This stored energy is called
_____. Sharon explained that this stored energy
as the ball fell.

Answer 1

a. Sharon reminded Bruce that the basketball had energy as it fell. This energy of motion is called kinetic energy. Bruce agreed and said this energy of motion was at its maximum right before the ball hit the ground.

b. Then Bruce recalled that the ball originally had stored energy as it sat on the wall. This stored energy is called potential energy. Sharon explained that this stored energy converted to kinetic energy as the ball fell.