Complete the statement. Assume that the water balloon's mass did not change.
The gravitational potential energy stored between the water balloon and Earth () as the water balloon fell toward Nate.
decreased stayed the same increased
Read the text about an object in motion.
Mariana dropped a water balloon off a balcony. The water balloon fell toward her friend Nate, who was standing below the balcony.
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 water balloon and the center of Earth changed.
Nate was lower than the balcony. As the water balloon fell toward Nate, the distance between the water balloon and the center of Earth decreased. So, the gravitational potential energy stored between the water balloon and Earth decreased as the water balloon fell toward Nate.