THE PRACTICE STUDIO
Go slowly. Ask why. Make it yours.
PRACTICE / Elastic potential energy
Where does the cart’s kinetic energy go?
A 2 kg cart moving at 3 m/s on a smooth horizontal track contacts an initially relaxed ideal spring of constant 200 N/m.
What is the maximum compression of the spring?
Organize the givens & assumptions
- Cart mass: 2 kg
- Initial speed: 3 m/s
- Spring constant: 200 N/m
The spring is massless and fixed at its far end. Ignore friction, air resistance and rotation of the cart’s wheels.
- A
- B
- C
- D
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