A spring with a constant of 7 (kg)/s^2 is lying on the ground with one end attached to a wall. An object with a mass of 2 kg and speed of 8 m/s collides with and compresses the spring until it stops moving. How much will the spring compress?

1 Answer
May 22, 2018

The compression is =4.28m

Explanation:

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The spring constant is k=7kgs^-2

The kinetic energy of the object is

KE=1/2m u^2

The mass is m=2kg

The speed is u=8ms^-1

KE=1/2*2*(8)^2=64J

This kinetic energy will be stored in the spring as potential energy.

PE=64J

So,

1/2kx^2=64

x^2=(128)/(7)=18.29m^2

x=sqrt(18.29)=4.28m