Calculating Spring Stretch for a Car & Trailer

AI Thread Summary
To calculate the stretch of a spring connecting a car and an 88 kg trailer, the spring constant is 2350 N/m and the car's acceleration is 0.29 m/s^2. The initial calculation using the formula Fx - kx resulted in a stretch of approximately -0.01086 m, which raised concerns about the sign of the result. A suggestion was made to drop the negative sign, as the problem likely requires a positive value for the stretch. This adjustment led to a successful resolution of the problem.
GeoKenshin
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Homework Statement



A car is hauling an 88 kg trailer, to which it is connected by a spring. The spring constant is 2350 N/m. The car accelerates with an acceleration of 0.29 m/s^2. By how much does the spring stretch?

Homework Equations



Fx -kx

The Attempt at a Solution



Fx -kx

88(.29) = -2350x

x = -0.01085957

This seems right. I tried -.0109 and .-01086 but no luck with that either. Am I using the wrong formula?
 
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GeoKenshin said:

Homework Statement



A car is hauling an 88 kg trailer, to which it is connected by a spring. The spring constant is 2350 N/m. The car accelerates with an acceleration of 0.29 m/s^2. By how much does the spring stretch?

Homework Equations



Fx -kx

The Attempt at a Solution



Fx -kx

88(.29) = -2350x

x = -0.01085957

This seems right. I tried -.0109 and .-01086 but no luck with that either. Am I using the wrong formula?


Your method is correct. Maybe try dropping the negative. (They may be looking for a positive value for how far the spring stretched.)
 
that worked. thanks.
 
Anytime.:smile:
 

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