ScienceMindMaster

Gravitational Potential Energy  ( PE grav ) is the energy possessed by an object by virtue of its position with respect to the ground. Objects that are raised to a certain height possess gravitational potential energy.  Every material object on earth is attracted to the earth's gravitational pull. When lifting a box, for example, you spend energy to raise it to a certain height. Thus, you perform work on the box.  Work   is a process of transferring energy. The amount of work ( Work = Force x displacement) you perform on the box is equal to the potential energy gained by the box.  While a box is lifted, it goes against the pull of gravity. This makes the box of a particular weight (weight = mass x gravity) more difficult to be lifted as height increases. In effect, since more work is needed to raise an object at a higher position, the more gravitational potential energy is gained by that object. The gravitational energy of an object is computed by   PE gra...