1. In all these cases, as the ball is at rest under the action of balanced forces i.e, there is no net force acting on it. Hence, it is in mechanical equilibrium. However, potential energy-wise, the three situations show the different states of mechanical equilibrium.

2. Stable equilibrium: In situation (a), potential energy of the system is at its local minimum. If it is disturbed slightly from its equilibrium position and released, it tends to recover its position. In this situation, the ball is most stable and is said to be in stable equilibrium.

3. Unstable equilibrium: In situation (b), potential energy of the system is at its local maximum. If it is slightly disturbed from its equilibrium position, it moves farther from that position. This happens because initially, if disturbed, it tries to achieve the configuration of minimum potential energy. In this situation, the ball is said to be in unstable equilibrium.

4. Neutral equilibrium: in situation (e), potential energy of the system is constant over a plane and remains same at any position. Thus, even if the ball is disturbed, it still remains in equilibrium, practically at any position.

In this situation, the ball is in neutral equilibrium.