Question

All the apples in the following diagram are identical. If each falls off its stack of books, which will have the most kinetic energy upon reaching the ground?


A
B
C
D

I want to say B but I don't know if this is a trick question!

Answer 1

I believe you are correct that it is B because Kinetic Energy is when an item is moving and Potential Energy is when an item is not moving. I hope it's right. :)

Answer 2

Sure.  The kinetic energy at the bottom comes from the potential energy
that it had at the top, and the potential energy depends on the height where
it starts from.  So the apple that falls from the highest height has the most
potential energy when it starts falling, and the most kinetic energy when
it's done falling.

SIMILARLY ...

If you fall off of the table, you land with more kinetic energy than if you
fall off of a book on the floor.