# GRAVITATIONAL POTENTIAL ENERGY

#### branchMECHANICS (MOTION)

Coming from ENERGY
=Gravitational Potential Energy= Gravitational Potential Energy is the energy stored by objects in a gravitational field. The large mass of the Earth creates the strong force of attraction we call gravity. Gravitational Potential energy depends on... *the objects position in the gravitational field = its '''height''' above a reference point, usually the surface of the Earth *the objects mass ===The Formula for Gravitational Potential Energy:=== [image:http://i.imgur.com/0swXK7z.png?1] [image:http://i.imgur.com/xeSHswC.png] This formula can be used to calculate the energy gained when something is raised or the energy lost when an object falls. '''m''' is the '''mass''' of the object, '''g''' is the '''acceleration due to gravity''' and '''h''' is the change in '''height'''. The acceleration due to gravity (g) on the surface of the earth is 9.81 ms^-2^. This can usually be approximated to 10 ms^-2^ This formula assumes that the acceleration due to gravity is constant. In reality, it changes with distance from the centre of the planet but on the surface of the Earth, it can be considered constant over a small area and height. ===The formula can also be expressed in the following triangle:=== [image:http://i.imgur.com/AUgaRAf.png] ===The formula can be rearranged. For instance to calculate the change in height:===[image:http://i.imgur.com/kB0UWwt.png?1]
Credit: Tristan O'Hanlon, Ben Himme