A spring with a constant of 4 (kg)/s^2 is lying on the ground with one end attached to a wall. An object with a mass of 5 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
Jun 20, 2017

The compression is =5.59m

Explanation:

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The spring constant is k=4kgs^-2

The kinetic energy of the object is

KE=1/2m u^2

The mass is m=5kg

The speed is u=5ms^-1

KE=1/2*5*(5)^2=62.5J

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

PE=62.5J

So,

1/2kx^2=62.5

x^2=(2*62.5)/(4)=31.25m^2

x=sqrt(31.25)=5.59m