This was brought up in my class recently and I would like to know the answer. Yo

Question

This was brought up in my class recently and I would like to know the answer.  

You have two identical pieces of wood.  You take one and light it on fire at ground level, and it releases some aout of thermal energy.  You take the second piece of wood to the top of a 3 story building and light it on fire.  The second piece of wood has more potential energy due to being raised up off the ground.  

How do the thermal energies compare?  Are they the same? Or does the second one have less because some of the thermal energy has  been converted to potential energy?

Explanation / Answer

They are the same.

No potential energy is converted to tothermal energy. Note that when the wood is fired, the cinder has the same potential energy.

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