mailmas said:
Energy is conserved and transformed into different types of energy within a conservative system?
... No. Total energy is always conserved in a
closed system.
[math]Could I say the Ui = Kf? But how would I solve for the spring constant?[/QUOTE]
Technically you need the net loss in PE is equal to net gain in KE... you need summation signs in front of the variables.
What you have to do is think about what the energy changes are.
You know KE changes ... you have an equation for that. It starts out at rest, so KE=0, and ends op with speed v, so $$\Delta K = K_f - K_i = \frac{1}{2}mv^2$$ right? Sound familiar?
Since you are told there is a non zero speed at the end, there is a net gain in kinetic energy. This energy has to come from somewhere ... where does it come from?
What other energies change?
Note: there is a change in compression in the spring, and there is a change in height: what sort of energy changes do those imply?
I handy discipline is just to write down "before", then write E_b = then list all the potential energies and kinetic energies there are.
Leave a space.
Write "after" and put E_a = then list all the potential and kinetic energies.
Then write E_b = E_a
... and solve the equation for the variable you need.