Elastic Energy and Conservation of Energy

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around the mechanics of a marble launched from a compressed spring and the application of energy conservation principles. The user initially attempted to apply the energy equation Eelastic + Eg = Ek but found it ineffective, later realizing that Eelastic = Ek accurately describes the system. The confusion arises from the marble's initial position on the table, where gravitational potential energy (Eg) should be considered. However, since the marble is shot horizontally, the gravitational potential energy does not contribute to the horizontal motion calculation. Ultimately, the focus is on understanding the correct application of energy conservation in this scenario.
HelloMotto
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Homework Statement



A horizontal spring of force constant 12 N/m, is mounted at the edge of a lab bench to shoot marbles at targets on the floor 93.0cm below. A marble of mass 8.3 x 10^-3 kg is shot from the spring, which is initially compressed a distance of 4.0 cm. how far does the marble travel horizontally?

i can see how i can calculate this, but I am not sure what the energy statement is in this question

originally i stated that

Eelastic + Eg = Ek

but that didnt work

I tried Eelastic = Ek
and that worked.

but it dosent make sense why Eelastic + Eg = Ek dosent work.
initially the ball is off on a table. so there should be gravitational potential energy...but why dosent it work with calculation?
 
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