Question

How much energy is stored in a spring that is compressed 0.375m if the spring constant is 765N/m?287J53.8J108J143J

Answer 1

The potential energy stored in a spring is given by:

`U=(1)/(2)kx^2`

where k is the spring constant and x is the distance the spring is compressed or elongated from the equilibrium position. In this case we have that:

`\begin{gathered} k=765 \\ x=0.375 \end{gathered}`

Plugging these in the expression for the potential energy we have:

`\begin{gathered} U=(1)/(2)(765)(0.375) \\ U=53.8 \end{gathered}`

Therefore, the energy stored in the spring is 53.8 J