Complete the statement. Assume that the athlete's mass did not change.
The gravitational potential energy stored between the athlete and Earth () as she sped up around the track.
A: increased
B: stayed the same
C: decreased
Think about how the distance between the athlete and the center of Earth changed.
Because the track was flat, each point on the track was the same distance from the center of Earth. As she sped up around the track, the distance between the athlete and the center of Earth stayed the same. So, the gravitational potential energy stored between the athlete and Earth stayed the same as she sped up around the track.