When a hammer falls from a work bench, what happens to the kinetic and potential energy?

When the hammer falls from a workbench, the situation involves the transformation of energy types due to the influence of gravity. Initially, when the hammer is at rest on the workbench, it possesses potential energy due to its elevated position relative to the ground. The potential energy is determined by its height and mass. As the hammer begins to fall, it accelerates downward under the force of gravity, which causes it to gain speed.

During this fall, the potential energy that the hammer had at its initial height is converted into kinetic energy, the energy of motion. As the height of the hammer decreases, its potential energy diminishes, and at the same time, its kinetic energy increases as it speeds up. This process adheres to the principle of conservation of mechanical energy, where the total energy remains constant, leading to a decrease in potential energy balanced by an equivalent increase in kinetic energy.

Thus, the correct statement captures this transformation: as the hammer falls, its kinetic energy increases while its potential energy decreases.