Officer Aptitude Rating (OAR) Complete Practice Test 2026

Potential energy is defined as the stored energy in an object due to its position or configuration. This type of energy is related to the potential for an object to do work based on its location relative to other objects. For instance, a rock placed at the top of a hill has gravitational potential energy, as it has the potential to fall and do work as it descends.

Kinetic energy, on the other hand, is the energy of motion; thermal energy relates to the internal energy of an object due to the temperature of its particles, and mechanical energy is the total energy of an object due to its position and motion, which includes both kinetic and potential energy. Since the question specifically asks about stored energy, the correct identification is potential energy, as it specifically focuses on energy that has the capacity to do work when released.