A flowerpot that has a mass of 1.5 kg is sitting on a windowsill 30 meters from the ground. Is the energy of the flowerpot potential of kinetic?

How much energy does the flowerpot have?

It is Potential and corresponding to

90

J

.

Explanation:

Potential Energy is energy stored in the system and ready (potentially) to be changed into, say, Kinetic Energy through movement.

The general expression for Gravitational Potential Energy is:

U=mgh

where:

mg is the weight; h is the height relative to a certain reference level (the ground in this case) choosen to have zero Potential Energy.

With your data we get:

U=3⋅30=90J