Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation ~ Misconception EGM061

The gravitational potential energy of an object does not depend on the distance the object is above the ground (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).

Items that test for misconception EGM061 in this project (Original Project) and key idea (Gravitational potential energy is a…)
Item ID Number	Item Description	How Often the Misconception was Chosen
EG016003	The gravitational potential energy of an object depends on the mass of the object and the object's distance from the center of the earth.	32%
EG071002	Two pictures that weigh the same and are hung the same height above the floor have the same amount of gravitational potential energy.	31%
EG093001	The gravitational potential energy of an object depends on the object’s distance from the center of the earth but not the speed of the object.	30%
EG088001	When two children who weigh the same are on a teeter-totter, the child who is up has more gravitational potential energy than the child who is down.	17%
EG013004	When a coconut falls from a tree, it has the most gravitational potential energy at its highest point above the ground.	16%