If a spring has a constant of #6# #kgs^-2#, how much work will it take to extend the spring by #67# # cm #?

1 Answer
Feb 14, 2016

The work done is equal to the change in spring potential energy: #E_p=1/2kx^2=1/2*6*0.67^2 = 1.35# #J#.

Explanation:

There's probably not a lot more explanation needed. The work required to extend the spring is stored as spring potential energy.

We could also calculate this using #W=Fd#, but because the force changes as the distance changes, this requires integrating the force over the distance, so the spring potential energy method is simpler.