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Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object has that could be converted into kinetic energy, thanks to the earth's gravitational pull. If you were to drop a ball from the top of a mountain, then its gravitational potential energy would convert into kinetic energy on the way down. The value of its kinetic energy just before it hit the ground would be the value of its gravitational potential energy at the top of the mountain, before it was dropped.

The equation for gravitational potential energy is: potential energy = mass x height x acceleration due to gravity.