Final answer:
Energy hitting the ground can transform into kinetic energy, associated with motion, or potential energy, which is stored. Other forms of energy exist, but in the context of impact, kinetic and potential are most relevant.
Step-by-step explanation:
When energy hits the ground, it can be transformed into various forms. The basic types of energy are kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion, and potential energy, which is stored energy that has the potential to cause work when released. After energy hits the ground, it can be converted to kinetic energy if it causes movement, or it can be stored as potential energy depending on the context of the situation.
For example, when a ball is dropped and hits the ground, it has kinetic energy just before impact. Upon impact, some of this kinetic energy may be converted into other forms, such as thermal energy due to friction, sound energy from the noise of the impact, or it may cause the ball to deform temporarily storing the energy as elastic potential energy.
There are other forms of energy as well, such as thermal energy, which is related to the motion of atoms and molecules, and radiant energy, which includes light and electromagnetic radiation. While these energies are important, in the context of energy hitting the ground, kinetic and potential energies are the most relevant.