Question

read the text about an object in motion. in a locker room, a softball was sitting in the middle of a level bench. jeffrey bumped the bench and the softball rolled toward the edge. then, the softball fell off the bench, hit the ground, and rolled quickly along the flat floor of the locker room. jeffrey tried to grab the ball, but he could not reach it before it rolled underneath some lockers. when was the most gravitational potential energy stored between the softball and earth? assume that the softballs mass did not change. when the ball was sitting in the middle of the bench when the ball was about to hit the locker room floor when the ball was rolling quickly toward the lockers

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.

Step2: Analyze height in each situation

When the ball is sitting in the middle of the bench, it has a non - zero height above the ground. When it is about to hit the locker room floor, its height $h$ is close to 0. When it is rolling quickly toward the lockers on the floor, its height $h$ is also 0.
Since $m$ and $g$ are constant and $U$ is directly proportional to $h$, the greatest potential energy occurs when $h$ is the greatest.

Answer:

when the ball was sitting in the middle of the bench