Question

A mass is attached to a spring with spring constant k = 20 N/m . The spring is stretched to 10 cm past its resting position. How much work (in J) does the spring do when the object is released and the mass travels back to its initial position?

Answer 1

0.1J

Explanation:

From the expression given by Scientists Robert Hook, it clearly states that two forms of energy is associated with the mass released from the spring, namely the kinetic energy and the potential energy.

The expression for the kinetic energy is

K.E=1/2mv^2

While the potential energy is

P.E=1/2kx^2

Where K is the spring constant and X is the extention. If we substitute the data given in the question we arrive at

P. E=1/2(20*0.1^2)

P.E=0.1J

Hence the amount of work done is 0.1J