A spring with a constant of 5kgs2 is lying on the ground with one end attached to a wall. An object with a mass of 1kg and speed of 9ms collides with and compresses the spring until it stops moving. How much will the spring compress?

1 Answer
Jun 16, 2017

The compression is =4.02m

Explanation:

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The spring constant is k=5kgs2

The kinetic energy of the object is

KE=12mu2

KE=121(9)2=812J

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

PE=812J

So,

12kx2=812

x2=815=16.2m2

x=16.2=4.02m