Questions on Potential Energy
Multiple-Choice Questions: Potential Energy
1. What is potential energy?
A) Energy due to motion
B) Energy associated with the temperature of a substance
C) Stored energy due to an object's position or arrangement
D) Energy released during combustion
E) Energy used in metabolic reactions
2. Which of the following is an example of gravitational potential energy?
A) A moving car
B) A compressed spring
C) A rock held at the edge of a cliff
D) A hot cup of coffee
E) A stretched rubber band
3. What happens to the gravitational potential energy of an object as it falls freely to the ground?
A) It increases
B) It remains constant
C) It transforms into kinetic energy
D) It is destroyed
E) It transforms into thermal energy
4. Which formula correctly represents gravitational potential energy (PE)?
A) PE = ½mv²
B) PE = mgh
C) PE = Fd
D) PE = qV
E) PE = h/mg
5. In the formula PE = mgh, what does 'h' represent?
A) Horizontal distance
B) Height above a reference point
C) Heat capacity
D) Hardness of the material
E) Humidity level
6. Which factor does not affect gravitational potential energy?
A) Mass
B) Height
C) Acceleration due to gravity
D) Temperature
E) Position
7. What is the SI unit of potential energy?
A) Watt
B) Newton
C) Joule
D) Pascal
E) Ampere
8. If the mass of an object is doubled and its height is also doubled, what happens to its gravitational potential energy?
A) It remains the same
B) It is doubled
C) It is tripled
D) It is quadrupled
E) It is halved
9. Which of the following best describes elastic potential energy?
A) Energy stored due to gravity
B) Energy stored in hot objects
C) Energy stored in compressed or stretched objects
D) Energy stored in batteries
E) Energy from radioactive decay
10. A 5 kg object is lifted 10 meters high. What is its gravitational potential energy? (Take g = 9.8 m/s²)
A) 49 J
B) 500 J
C) 98 J
D) 490 J
E) 1000 J
11. What happens to the potential energy of a stretched rubber band when it is released?
A) It becomes gravitational energy
B) It becomes heat
C) It becomes kinetic energy
D) It disappears
E) It increases
12. Which situation involves the highest potential energy?
A) A ball rolling down a hill
B) A pendulum at its lowest point
C) A spring fully compressed
D) A rock lying on the ground
E) A car moving at constant speed on a flat road
13. When does a pendulum have maximum potential energy?
A) At the bottom of its swing
B) When it's at the midpoint
C) At the highest point of its swing
D) When it stops moving
E) When it is in free fall
14. Which type of energy transformation occurs when a skier descends a slope?
A) Kinetic → potential
B) Potential → thermal
C) Potential → kinetic
D) Thermal → chemical
E) Kinetic → electrical
15. Which of the following best describes chemical potential energy?
A) Energy stored in motion
B) Energy due to an object’s height
C) Energy stored in the bonds of molecules
D) Energy from magnetic fields
E) Energy released by sound
16. What happens to potential energy in a chemical reaction that releases heat?
A) It is stored
B) It increases
C) It transforms into electrical energy
D) It transforms into thermal energy
E) It disappears completely
17. In a closed system, what happens to the total energy (including potential energy)?
A) It is always lost
B) It stays the same (conserved)
C) It increases
D) It changes randomly
E) It becomes zero
18. Which energy transformation is most common in hydroelectric power plants?
A) Thermal → electrical
B) Solar → chemical
C) Gravitational potential → electrical
D) Chemical → nuclear
E) Electrical → sound
19. What is the potential energy of a 2 kg object placed 5 m above the ground? (g = 9.8 m/s²)
A) 10 J
B) 98 J
C) 49 J
D) 19.6 J
E) 100 J
20. Why does a compressed spring have potential energy?
A) Due to its temperature
B) Due to its speed
C) Due to its elastic deformation
D) Due to its weight
E) Due to air resistance
Answer Key with Explanations
1. C – Potential energy is stored energy due to position or structure.
2. C – A rock at a height has gravitational potential energy.
3. C – As it falls, PE converts to kinetic energy.
4. B – PE = mgh (mass × gravity × height).
5. B – ‘h’ is the height above the ground or a reference point.
6. D – Temperature does not affect gravitational PE.
7. C – The joule (J) is the SI unit for all forms of energy.
8. D – Doubling both mass and height multiplies PE by 4.
9. C – Elastic PE is stored when an object is stretched or compressed.
10. D – PE = 5 × 9.8 × 10 = 490 J.
11. C – Stored PE becomes kinetic energy upon release.
12. C – A compressed spring stores elastic potential energy.
13. C – A pendulum has max PE at the top of its swing.
14. C – As the skier descends, height is lost and speed increases.
15. C – Chemical PE is energy in molecular bonds.
16. D – Exothermic reactions release heat from stored chemical energy.
17. B – In a closed system, total energy is conserved.
18. C – Water’s gravitational PE converts to kinetic, then electrical energy.
19. B – PE = 2 × 9.8 × 5 = 98 J.
20. C – A compressed spring stores energy due to its shape change.
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