Question

read the text about an animal in motion. a squirrel was sitting on a short tree stump and cleaning its paws. the squirrel got scared when some people walked by, so it ran down the stump. after reaching the ground, the squirrel scurried across a flat field toward a tall oak tree. the squirrel then ran up to the highest branch in the oak tree and rested there. when was the most gravitational potential energy stored between the squirrel and earth? assume that the squirrels mass did not change. when the squirrel got scared by the people when the squirrel was scurrying across the field when the squirrel rested in the oak tree

Explanation:

Step1: Recall gravitational - potential energy formula

The gravitational - potential energy formula is $U = mgh$, where $m$ is mass, $g$ is the acceleration due to gravity, and $h$ is the height above the ground. Since the mass $m$ of the squirrel and the acceleration due to gravity $g$ are constant, the gravitational - potential energy depends only on the height $h$.

Step2: Analyze the height at different times

When the squirrel got scared by the people, it was on a short tree - stump. When scurrying across the field, it was at ground level (height $h = 0$ relative to the field). When it rested in the oak tree, it was at the highest branch of the oak tree, which is the greatest height among the three situations.

Answer:

when the squirrel rested in the oak tree