Complete the statement. Assume that the car's mass did not change.
The gravitational potential energy stored between the car and Earth () as the car slowed to a stop.
decreased stayed the same increased
Read the text about an object in motion.
Hannah was driving her car on a road when she saw a red light ahead. She slowed the car to a stop along the flat road.
Gravitational potential energy is stored between any two objects. So, for every object on or near Earth, there is gravitational potential energy stored between the object and Earth.
The amount of gravitational potential energy stored between an object and Earth depends on the mass of the object. The amount of gravitational potential energy also depends on the distance between the object and the center of Earth. This distance increases when the object moves higher and decreases when the object moves lower.
If the distance between an object and the center of Earth changes, the gravitational potential energy stored between the object and Earth will change. The table below shows how this change can happen.
When an object's mass stays the same and its distance from the center of Earth... | Gravitational potential energy stored between the object and Earth...
increases | increases
decreases | decreases
stays the same | stays the same
Think about how the distance between the car and the center of Earth changed.
Because the road was flat, each point on the road was the same distance from the center of Earth. As the car slowed to a stop, the distance between the car and the center of Earth stayed the same. So, the gravitational potential energy stored between the car and Earth stayed the same as the car slowed to a stop.