How does increasing the mass of an object affect its gravitational potential energy?

Increasing the mass of an object directly raises its gravitational potential energy. Gravitational potential energy is defined by the formula ( PE = mgh ), where ( PE ) is the potential energy, ( m ) is the mass of the object, ( g ) is the acceleration due to gravity, and ( h ) is the height above a reference point.

From this equation, you can see that potential energy is directly proportional to the mass; as the mass (m) increases, the potential energy also increases, assuming that the height (h) and the gravitational field strength (g) remain constant. Therefore, if you double the mass, you will double the gravitational potential energy.

This relationship illustrates that gravitational potential energy increases when mass is increased while the conditions of height and gravitational field strength are unchanged.