Recent content by Meagan

Well I got it wrong :cry:. That's ok though, I think I know what I did wrong! Thank you for all of your help!

I do not understand how to use that formula in this situation. I only remember how to integrate when there is a function.

And in this situation Ok. I will try again after my next class. Thank you for your help and sorry for my initial mess up not showing my work. This was my first post lol.

Using this approach I found the net work to be 567 J. I am not really sure how to transition from this information to the work-kinetic energy theorem. I tried W=1/2 (k1+k2)vf2-1/2 k1vi2 and solving for initial velocity.

I was thinking there was technically three forces, the first spring by itself, the second spring, and then the first spring again but over a different distance. I did: F1=-1700 * 0.285m, F2=-3000*0.165m and then F3=-1700*0.165m. I left out the units for k to avoid confusing that anymore than...

I tried using Fs=-kx, then adding all of the forces together to find the work with Ws=∑F*Δr, and then using the work-kinetic energy theorem, I was not exactly sure how to set this equation up correctly, however, to find the initial velocity.

Homework Statement A 5000-kg freight car rolls along rails with negligible friction. The car is brought to rest by a combination of two coiled springs as illustrated in the figure below. Both springs are described by Hooke's law and have spring constants with k1 = 1700 N/m and k2 = 3000 N/m...

My name is Meagan and this is me introducing myself :-). I am a Biochem major, but I am seriously struggling with Physics... It is all brand new to me!