What is Gravitational potential energy?

Gravitational potential energy is the energy something has because of its position, like when you lift a toy to the top of a shelf.

Imagine you have a little ball and a table. When you place the ball on the floor, it's calm and happy. But if you pick it up and put it on the table, something changes, it now has gravitational potential energy, which is like stored energy waiting to be used.

Think of gravity as a gentle push from Earth that says, “Come back down!” When you lift the ball, you're doing work against this push. The higher you lift it, the more energy you give it, and the more gravitational potential energy it stores.

If you let go, the ball will fall, and that stored energy turns into motion energy, like when it zooms across the floor or even knocks over a tiny tower!

So, every time you climb up a slide or lift your teddy bear to the top of the bed, you're giving things gravitational potential energy, ready to be used whenever they come back down.