A spring with a constant of 3 (kg)/s^2 is lying on the ground with one end attached to a wall. An object with a mass of 3 kg and speed of 5 m/s collides with and compresses the spring until it stops moving. How much will the spring compress?

1 Answer
May 19, 2017

The spring will compress by =5m

Explanation:

enter image source here

The spring constant is k=3kgs^-2

The kinetic energy of the object is

KE=1/2m u^2

KE=1/2*3*(5)^2=75/2J

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

PE=75/2J

So,

1/2kx^2=75/2

x^2=2*(75/2)/(3)=25m^2

x=sqrt(25)=5m