Elastic collision with a spring constant and unknown masses

AI Thread Summary
A ball of mass m rolls down a 3.0 m ramp inclined at 30° and collides elastically with a stationary ball of mass 2m. After the collision, the second ball compresses a spring with a spring constant of 200 N/m by 0.15 m. The discussion involves applying conservation of energy and momentum principles to find the mass m. The user initially calculated the velocity of the second ball after the collision but overlooked the conservation of momentum, which is crucial for solving the problem. The key takeaway is the importance of using both conservation laws to determine the unknown mass.
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Homework Statement


A ball of mass m rolls down a 3.0 m ramp inclined at 30° above the horizontal, rolls along a flat, friction less surface, and collides elastically with another ball of mass 2m, initially at rest. The second mass then moves along the surface and collides with a horizontally mounted spring with spring constant k= 200 N/m, compressing it by 0.15 m. What is the value of m?

Homework Equations


Ek 1 + Eg 1 + Ee 1 = Ek 2 + Eg 1 + Ee 2

For the incline:
FN + Fg parallel + Fg perpendicular + Ff = m1a

The Attempt at a Solution


I've been working backwards so I started with this:

1/2 m2v2' 2 = 1/2 kx2

I ended up with v2' = √45/2m and I now have no idea how to continue

Any help will be appreciated.
 
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The top of the 3 m long, 30 degree ramp is 3 sin(30)= 1.5 m above its base. Taking the kinetic energy of the first ball to be 0 at the top of the ramp, its potential energy is 1.5mg, relative to the bottom. At the bottom of the ramp, it potential energy is 0 so its kinetic energy is 1.5mg and its velocity is given by v= \sqrt{1.5g} so its momentum is m\sqrt{1.5g}. On the level, both "conservation or kinetic energy" and "conversation of momentum" hold.
 
Oops. I forgot about conservation of momentum. Thanks!
 
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