In a railroad switchyard, a rail car of mass 41,700 kg starts from rest and rolls down a 2.65-m-high incline and onto a level stretch of track. It then hits a spring bumper, whose spring compresses 79.4 cm. Find the spring constant.

Respuesta :

Answer:

The spring constant is 3.44x10⁶ kg/s².

Explanation:

We cand find the spring constant by conservation of energy:

[tex] E_{i} = E_{f} [/tex]

[tex] mgh = \frac{1}{2}kx^{2} [/tex]   (1)

Where:

m is the mass =  41700 kg

g is the gravity = 9.81 m/s²

h is the height = 2.65 m

x is the distance of spring compression = 79.4 cm

k is the spring constant =?

Solving equation (1) for k:

[tex]k = \frac{2mgh}{x^{2}} = \frac{2*41700 kg*9.81 m/s^{2}*2.65 m}{(0.794 m)^{2}} = 3.44 \cdot 10^{6} kg/s^{2}[/tex]              

Therefore, the spring constant is 3.44x10⁶ kg/s².

I hope it helps you!