What happens to the KE, PE, and TE as a package moves upwards in the air?

Question

Think about standing outside of a building and tossing a package up to a friend who is at a second story window. Answer the following questions for the time after you toss the package, when it is moving upward.

1. What happens to the package’s kinetic energy as it moves upward?: 
2. What happens to the package’s potential energy as it moves upward?: 
3. What happens to the total energy in the Earth-package system as the package moves upward?:

Options are - Decrease, Increase, Stay the Same

Answer 1

When working through questions regarding potential, kinetic, and total energy, it's important to remember what they are. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion, and knowing this will help you derive each of these answers.

As the package moves upwards, imagine what happens. It leaves your hand moving very quickly and slows as it works against gravity. Because the package is moving slower, the kinetic energy decreases.

Remember, total energy remains the same. PE + KE = TE. Because kinetic energy is decreasing, we know that potential energy is increasing. Imagine if you weren't tossing the package to a window where it would be caught, but rather just up into the air to come back down. At the top, it would have the "potential" to fall and regain speed.

Total energy remains the same.