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vincisonfire
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Homework Statement
A mass of 50 kg falls 50 cm onto the platform of a spring scale and sticks. The platform comes to rest 10 cm below its initial position. The mass of the platform is 2 kg. Find the spring constant.
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
I thought of the following solution using conservation of energy:
m*g*h = (k*A^2)/2
leads to k = 1000g
But I also thought of the solution using conservation of momentum:
v0^2=2*a*(ds)=g
m*v0=M*v1 (M is the total mass)
m*v0/M=v1=5*g/6
(m*v1)^2/2=(k*A^2)/2
k = 5000*g^2/3
Could it also simply be that the spring comes to rest when forces are at equilibrium
M*g=k*x
That yields
k=100*g