How Far Will the Spring Compress in a Frictionless Collision?

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A 2 kg block collides with a massless spring (spring constant 94 N/m) at a speed of 1.4 m/s on a frictionless surface. The relevant equations for the problem are (1/2)kx^2 for spring compression and (1/2)mv^2 for kinetic energy. The user attempted to solve for the compression distance using the equation x = sqrt((mv^2)/k) but received an incorrect result of 0.20421. The community encourages persistence, acknowledging that mistakes are common in physics problems. The final answer should be provided in centimeters.
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Homework Statement


A 2 kg block collides with a massless spring of spring constant 94 N/m attached to a wall. The speed of the block was observed to be 1.4 m/s at the moment of collision. The acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s 2 . How far does the spring compress if the surface on which the mass moves is frictionless? Answer in units of cm.

Homework Equations


(1/2)kx^2
(1/2)mv^2

The Attempt at a Solution


(1/2)kx^2=(1/2)mv^2
Solved for x
x= sqrt((mv^2)/(k))
Plugged in values and I got 0.20421
Apparently not right though[/B]
 
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Joshua Lee said:
Answer in units of cm.
 
Facepalming so hard right now. Thanks!
 
No need to feel bad...happens to all of us.

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