Question

when does potential energy increase or decrease

Answer 1

Here are some examples:

If, for instance, I am riding a bicycle up a hill, my potential energy would increase as I go up and decrease as I go down. So generally, the farther up you are, the more potential energy you have.

But what if you are dealing with a spring? Well, in this case, the maximum potential energy occurs when the spring is completely compressed; hence, the more compressed, the more potential energy.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

when heat is added potential energy increases and when heat is lost potential energy decreases.