Question

A block of mass 6.3 kg slides on a flat, horizontal frictionless surface at a speed of 8.9 m/s. It comes into contact with the end of an ideal spring, the other end of which is attached to a fixed wall. The spring has a spring constant of k = 1200 N/m. The spring is able to push to the left on the block, but it is not able to pull on the block. The block compresses the spring, then turns around and slides to the left at its original speed of 8.9 m/s. How long was the block in contact with the spring?

Answer 1

The information provided is not sufficient to calculate the time of contact between a block and a spring without the maximum compression of the spring; hence an accurate answer cannot be given.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question involves calculating the time of contact between a moving block and a spring on a frictionless surface. When the block compresses the spring and then reverses direction, the conservation of energy principle applies. This is because the kinetic energy of the block is converted into potential energy of the spring when it is compressed, and then fully converted back to kinetic energy as the block returns to the original speed after losing contact with the spring.

To calculate the duration of contact, we'd use the basic kinematic equations and the properties of simple harmonic motion. However, because the information provided is insufficient to give a detailed response (no maximum compression of the spring is given), and we don't have a direct method to calculate the time without this piece of information, we must report that we cannot provide an accurate answer.