Which of the following materials can store elastic potential energy?

Rubber bands are an excellent example of materials that can store elastic potential energy. When a rubber band is stretched, the molecular structure of the rubber undergoes deformation. This deformation allows the rubber band to store energy in the form of elastic potential energy. When the rubber band is released, that stored energy is converted back into kinetic energy, allowing it to return to its original shape and snap back to its unstretched form.

The ability of rubber bands to store energy effectively is due to their inherent elastic properties, which allow them to stretch and compress while still returning to their original shape. This characteristic is fundamental to many applications, such as in toys and mechanical devices.

Other materials listed may have different energy storage characteristics. For example, stone and wood are primarily rigid materials that do not have significant elastic properties. While they can store other forms of potential energy—such as gravitational potential energy—they do not exhibit elastic potential energy in the same way rubber bands do. Water, on the other hand, behaves as a liquid and can store potential energy depending on its position (gravitational potential energy) but does not store elastic potential energy since it does not return to a specific shape when stress is applied.