smhippe
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Homework Statement
A mass m1 = 8 kg is at rest on a frictionless horizontal surface and connected to a
wall by a spring with spring constant k = 70 N/m as shown in the figure. A second mass
m2 = 5 kg is moving to the right at vo = 17 m/s. The two masses collide and stick
together. How long will it take after the collision to reach the maximum compression of
the spring?
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
I just want to make sure I did this right...
So solve for the maximum compression distance using energy conservation. The spring has no energy and there is no energy change for potential gravity. So, 1/2*m*v^2=1/2*k*x^2; solving for x I got 5.75. Next we know F=-kx so ma=-kx; solving for a I got a=-30.96. Putting this into kinematics gives us .55s