1) This question asks us to find the point where the object has the greatest potential energy. There are three main types of potential energy which are covered on the SAT subject test: gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy, and electric potential energy. However, there are neither charges, nor springs in this problem. Therefore, the only potential energy we must consider is the gravitational potential energy. The blue equation is the equation used for gravitational potential energy.
When we take a look at the blue equation above, we can tell that there are three values that affect the gravitational potential energy: mass(m), acceleration due to gravity(g), and height(h). Since both mass(m) and acceleration due to gravity(g) are constant throughout the block's path, the only value that changes as the block moves is the height. Since the gravitational potential energy and the height are directly proportional to each other, we know that we should pick the point with the highest height. Point A is the answer choice with the highest height and is our answer.
Answer: A
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