Which factor affects elastic potential energy but not gravitational potential energy?
spring constant
acceleration due to gravity
distance from a given position
amount of matter in the object

spring constant

Explanation:

The elastic potential energy is given by:

where

k is the spring constant

x is the compression/stretching of the spring

Therefore, from the formula we see that the elastic potential energy is affected only by k (the spring constant) and x (the distance from the equilibrium position of the spring).

On the contrary, gravitational potential energy is given by:

where

m is the mass of the object

g is the gravitational acceleration

h is the height of the object relative to a certain position

So, we see that gravitational potential energy depends on:

- acceleration due to gravity  (g)

- distance from a given position  (h)

- amount of matter in the object (the mass, m)

Therefore, the only factor that affects only elastic potential energy but not gravitational potential energy is the spring constant.

trig 15.3 cos