Download Springs Practice Questions_PDF

Springs
Force
(1) If a force of 50 N is applied to a spring, by how much will that spring stretch if it has a spring
constant, k, of 5 N/m? Suppose the same force is applied to another spring with a spring
constant of 10 N/m, by how much will this spring stretch?
(2) By how much will a spring compress if a 6.0 kg mass is placed on top of it? (k = 25 N/m)
(3) If a force of 20 N causes a spring to stretch 0.20 meters, calculate the spring constant.
(4) If the force exerted on a spring is tripled, what affect will that have on the amount of stretch
exhibited by the spring?
(5) If an object is hung on a spring with a spring constant of 6 N/m and the spring stretches 0.40
m., find the weight and mass of this object.
(6) If hanging a 750 gram object from a spring causes it to stretch 1.40 meters, calculate the spring
constant.
(7) An automobile uses springs (in addition to “shock-absorbers”) within its suspension system to
help create a smoother ride on rough surfaces. If the automobile has a mass of 1400 kg and
each of the four springs compresses by 15 cm. calculate the spring constant of the springs.
What physical property corresponds to the value of the spring constant?
Work & Potential Energy
(8) How much work is required to stretch a spring a distance of 50 cm. if the spring constant, k, is
200 N/m? How much P.E. is now stored within the spring?
(9) Calculate the potential energy possessed by a spring that has been stretched by 0.50 meters. (k
= 65 N/m). What affect, and to what extent, would stretching the spring another 0.50 meters
have on the potential energy?
(10) If 5.0 J of work is done in stretching a spring 0.50 meters, calculate the spring constant.
(11) An object, having a mass of 500 grams, is dropped onto a spring (k = 100 N/m) from 3.0
meters above the spring. If no energy is lost to air resistance or friction, by how much will
the spring compress?
(12) When the spring in question #11 “uncompresses” and pushes the object off of it, how much
kinetic energy will the object have as it leaves the spring? How fast will it be traveling?
How far above the spring will the object reach?
(13) A mass is attached to a spring with a spring constant of 150 N/m.
(a) If the mass falls from a height where the spring was originally stretched 10 cm. to a
height where the spring is now stretched 35 cm., what energy was gained by the spring?
(b) How much gravitational P.E. was lost by the mass?
(c) What was the mass of the object attached to the spring?
(14) What mass would an object have to have in order to cause a spring (k = 45 N/m) to compress
45 cm. when dropped from a height of 0.75 m.?
(15) A dart of mass 0.10 kg is pressed against the spring of a dart gun (spring constant = 250 N/m)
and the spring is compressed 6.0 cm. If the dart gun is pointed horizontally and the trigger is
pulled – releasing the spring, how fast will the dart move as it leaves the gun?
(a) What factors could you change to make the dart move faster when the trigger was
pulled?
(16) A 3.0 kg box is first lifted off the floor to the top of an incline whose height is 4.5 meters. It
is then allowed to slide down the frictionless incline and across a horizontal, frictionless
tabletop.
(a) How much work was done in lifting the box off the floor up to a height of 4.5 meters?
(b) How much potential energy does the object have at the top? How much P.E. would it
have after sliding to the bottom of the incline?
(c) What happens to the total mechanical energy of the box as it slides down the incline?
(d) If the P.E. of the box decreases as the box slides down, where does it go?
(e) What velocity will the block have immediately at the bottom of the incline?
(f) If the block slides along the frictionless, horizontal tabletop and hits a spring having a
spring constant of 4 N/m, by how much will the spring compress?
(g) How much work was done to stop the box?
(h) What average force was applied to the box (by the spring) in order to stop the box?
(i) If the box slides down onto a surface that is not frictionless and slides to a stop (on the
tabletop before hitting the spring) in 2.0 meters, what average frictional force was
applied?
(j) If the box had slid down an incline that was not frictionless and had a velocity of 2.5
m/s at the bottom of the incline, how much work was done against friction (how much
energy was “lost” to friction) as the box slid down the incline?