A spring is compressed by 0.2 m and has a spring constant of 300 N/m. What is th
Practice Questions
Q1
A spring is compressed by 0.2 m and has a spring constant of 300 N/m. What is the potential energy stored in the spring?
6 J
12 J
18 J
24 J
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
A spring is compressed by 0.2 m and has a spring constant of 300 N/m. What is the potential energy stored in the spring?
Step 1: Identify the formula for potential energy stored in a spring, which is PE = 0.5 × k × x².
Step 2: Identify the values given in the question: the spring constant (k) is 300 N/m and the compression distance (x) is 0.2 m.
Step 3: Substitute the values into the formula: PE = 0.5 × 300 N/m × (0.2 m)².
Step 4: Calculate (0.2 m)², which is 0.04 m².
Step 5: Now substitute this value back into the equation: PE = 0.5 × 300 N/m × 0.04 m².
Step 6: Multiply 300 N/m by 0.04 m² to get 12 N·m.
Step 7: Finally, multiply 12 N·m by 0.5 to get the potential energy: PE = 6 J.
Potential Energy in Springs – The potential energy stored in a compressed or stretched spring is calculated using the formula PE = 0.5 × k × x², where k is the spring constant and x is the displacement from the equilibrium position.