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A) In the classroom:
Book on high shelf = high potential energy.
Book on lower shelf = lower potential energy.
How does height become magically transformed to motion?
Height and motion
are entirely different entities. It's actually the gravitational force
producing the change in KE.
PE only provides a convenient calculational tool
that allows the student to easily compute the change in KE when the
elevation of the object changes and gravity is the only force involved.
To
me, that is the essence of energy - a scalar calculational tool that acts as
a very convenient surrogate for Newton's 2nd Law. I find it ill conceived to
encourage a student to somehow turn potential energy into some kind of a
substance that can (with the proper incantations) magically appear as KE.