An object with a mass of #5"kg"# is hanging from a spring with a constant of #3 "kg/s"^2#. If the spring is stretched by #3"m"#, what is the net force on the object?
1 Answer
Nov 9, 2016
Explanation:
The gravitational force acting on the object is
#W = mg = (5 "kg") * (10 "m/s"^2) = 50 "N"#
in the downwards direction.
The spring force is given by Hooke's Law,
#F_"Spring" = kx = (3 "kg/s"^2) * (3 "m") = 9 "N"#
in the upwards direction.
Therefore, the net force is the sum of all forces acting on the object.
#F_"Net" = W - F_"Spring"#
#= 50 "N" - 9 "N"#
#= 41 "N"#
in the downwards direction.
