Elastic potential energy is associated with what kind of deformation?

Elastic potential energy is specifically associated with the deformation that occurs when materials are stretched or compressed. This form of energy is stored when an elastic object, such as a spring or rubber band, undergoes changes in shape due to applied forces. When the material is deformed by stretching or compressing, it can store energy that can be released when the material returns to its original shape.

In the case of stretching, when a spring is pulled, it extends, and energy is stored in the form of elastic potential energy. Similarly, when a spring is compressed, the energy is also stored until the spring is allowed to return to its resting position. This concept is foundational in understanding how elastic materials behave and how they can release energy in a controlled manner, enabling many applications in physics and engineering, such as in springs and shock absorbers.

The other choices—heating or cooling, breaking or bending, and rotating or sliding—relate to different physical processes that do not involve the reversible deformation of materials in the same way. Heating or cooling refers to thermal energy changes, breaking or bending often leads to permanent deformation rather than the elastic restoration, and rotating or sliding involves movements that do not result in the energy storage characteristic of elastic potential energy.