Question

A book is lifted from the floor and is kept in an almirah. One person says that the potential energy of the book is increased by 20 J and the other says it is increased by 30 J. Is one of them necessarily wrong?

 

Answer 1

Yes, one of them is necessarily wrong. We measure potential energy from a reference level chosen by the observer. However, the change in potential energy of a body does not depend on the level of reference.