Potential Energy
Kinetic energy belongs to one moving object. Potential energy belongs to a system whose arrangement stores work waiting to happen. A ball above the ground; a compressed spring. Two formulas cover the course, $\Delta U_g = mg\,\Delta y$ near Earth and $U_s = \tfrac{1}{2}k(\Delta x)^2$ for a spring. The traps are small in number, and all of them come from forgetting that potential energy lives in the configuration, not the object.
Three traps. Treating potential energy as a property of the ball alone instead of the ball-Earth system. Doubling a spring's compression and expecting double the energy when the answer is four times as much. Calling a negative gravitational potential energy non-physical when it just reflects where the zero was chosen.
The work
3 ways in · any order
Lesson
Potential Energy
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A five-section read covering gravitational and elastic potential energy, the system framing, and where the zero-point lives. Closes with a ten-scenario applet that drills the three pitfalls one at a time.
Diagnostic
10-item topic check
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Ten multiple-choice items targeting the three Topic 3.3 misconceptions, with two extra signed-energy items to catch sign-as-magnitude carryover.
Targeted Practice
Drill a single misconception
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Pick one of the failure modes you've missed and grind it on its own. The round is adaptive: two correct in a row clears the misconception and you move on.