Physics Lab Fun: Spring Adventures!

Are you ready for some physics fun with springs?

Let's dive into a couple of exciting experiments involving springs and see how much we can learn from them!

The first spring scenario:

Let's start with the first scenario where a 7 kg object is pushed by a spring with a spring constant of 19 N/m. The object has a final velocity of 7 m/s after 10 seconds of being pushed. How far is the spring compressed in this case?

In this scenario, we can use Newton's second law, kinematic equations, and the work-energy theorem to solve for the compression of the spring. First, we need to calculate the net force acting on the object by subtracting the frictional force from the spring force. This net force allows us to determine the acceleration of the object. Using the final velocity and acceleration, we can find the distance covered by the object, which is equal to the compression of the spring.

The spring in the first scenario is compressed by approximately 25.64 meters.

The second spring scenario:

Now, let's move on to the second scenario where a spring shoots a 21 g ball horizontally. When the spring is compressed 20 cm, the ball travels 5.2 m horizontally and lands 1.3 m below the starting point. What is the spring constant in this case?

In this scenario, we can utilize energy conservation principles to find the spring constant. The potential energy stored in the spring when compressed is equal to the kinetic energy of the ball just after leaving the spring. By setting up this equation and solving for the spring constant, we can determine its value.

For the second scenario, the spring constant is roughly 0.0445 N/cm.