The discussion focuses on calculating the stopping point of a 0.25 kg mass attached to a spring with a spring constant of 5.4 N/m after being dropped. The correct stopping distance is determined to be 0.91 meters, achieved by applying the conservation of energy principle. The participant initially misapplied Hooke's Law (F = -kx) and did not account for the energy transformations involved. The final solution involves equating gravitational potential energy and spring potential energy to find the correct stretch of the spring.
PREREQUISITESStudents in physics, particularly those studying mechanics, as well as educators looking for practical examples of energy conservation and spring dynamics.
The object starts from rest with no speed, and when it reaches the bottom, it momentarily stops and also has no speed. But there is gravitational potential energy at the top, and spring potential energy at the bottom.zachmgilbert said:i have .5mv2=.5kx2 but i don't know how to find velocity.