A spring with a constant of #6 (kg)/s^2# is lying on the ground with one end attached to a wall. An object with a mass of #9 kg# and speed of #4 m/s# collides with and compresses the spring until it stops moving. How much will the spring compress?
1 Answer
Compression:
Explanation:
Mechanical Energy Conservation: When the forces acting on a system are purely conservative, its mechanical energy remains conserved.
In this case when the kinetic energy of the block decreases, the potential energy in the spring increases by the same amount to keep the total mechanical energy of the system a constant.
Decrease in KE :
Increase in PE :