Final answer:
Potential energy is stored energy in an object due to its position, state, or composition. Examples include gravitational energy in objects at height, chemical energy in bonds, and electrical energy in separated charges. It contrasts with kinetic energy, which is due to motion.
Step-by-step explanation:
Potential energy is the energy that is stored in an object or system due to its position in a force field or its state. Common examples of potential energy include gravitational potential energy, such as a rock perched on the edge of a cliff, and chemical potential energy, like the energy stored in the chemical bonds of a stick of dynamite. Objects may also possess electrical potential energy, as with a battery, and nuclear energy, as found in the nucleus of an atom.
An interesting aspect of potential energy is that it includes energy stored because of the relative positions or orientations of different parts of a system. For instance, the chemical potential energy within a battery is due to the positions of the particles in the chemicals that make up the battery. Similarly, a brick lying on a windowsill of a high floor has a significant amount of gravitational potential energy because of its position high above the ground.
In contrast, kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses because of its motion. For example, when the aforementioned brick falls from the window, its potential energy converts to kinetic energy, which can then do work when the brick strikes an object.