A spring with a constant of 7 (kg)/s^27kgs2 is lying on the ground with one end attached to a wall. An object with a mass of 8 kg8kg and speed of 2 m/s2ms collides with and compresses the spring until it stops moving. How much will the spring compress?

1 Answer
May 17, 2017

The compression is =2.14m=2.14m

Explanation:

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The spring constant is k=7kgs^-2k=7kgs2

The kinetic energy of the object is

KE=1/2m u^2KE=12mu2

KE=1/2*8*(2)^2=16JKE=128(2)2=16J

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

PE=16JPE=16J

So,

1/2kx^2=1612kx2=16

x^2=16*2/(7)=4.57m^2x2=1627=4.57m2

x=sqrt(4.57)=2.14mx=4.57=2.14m