What type of energy does an object possess due to its height above the Earth's surface?

The type of energy that an object possesses due to its height above the Earth's surface is gravitational potential energy. This form of energy is directly related to the position of an object within a gravitational field. When an object is raised to a certain height, work is done against the force of gravity, and that work is stored as gravitational potential energy.

Gravitational potential energy can be calculated using the formula:

[ \text{Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE)} = m \cdot g \cdot h ]

where (m) is the mass of the object, (g) is the acceleration due to gravity, and (h) is the height above the reference point (usually the ground or a chosen zero height).

This energy is particularly important when considering how it can be transformed into other forms of energy, such as kinetic energy, when the object falls or descends. The higher the object is positioned above the ground, the more gravitational potential energy it possesses, making this concept crucial in understanding energy transformations in physics.