If you drop an object from twenty feet, it might shatter on the floor. The same object
dropped from one foot might not. One reason is that an object held at twenty feet above
the floor has more gravitational potential energy. If two objects have the same mass, the
object farther from the floor has more gravitational potential energy. When it's dropped,
gravity pulls it down, transforming its potential energy into kinetic energy, or the energy
of motion.
Gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy are not the only kinds of energy. A
battery, for example, is also full of energy. That energy, however, is stored in the bonds
between the chemicals inside the battery. Energy stored in chemical bonds is called
chemical potential energy. When you connect a battery to a flashlight, for example, a
chemical reaction releases the energy stored in the bonds, lighting up the flashlight's
bulb.