An object is falling from a terrace which is 20 m high. At what point does it have maximum kinetic energy?
Just before touching the ground floor
From law of energy conservation, we know that at the height of 20 m, object will have maximum potential energy and when it reaches the ground floor, it has maximum kinetic energy.
Since the velocity of the object increases when it comes down, its kinetic energy will be maximum just before touching the ground. When object touches the ground, part of kinetic energy is transformed into sound energy and part of energy is lost to the surroundings.