× Didn't find what you were looking for? Ask a question
Top Posters
Since Sunday
6
y
2
m
2
m
2
u
2
m
2
B
2
M
2
e
2
k
2
N
2
y
2
New Topic  
smn smn
wrote...
Posts: 96
Rep: 0 0
11 years ago
A mass vibrates back and forth from the free end of an ideal spring of spring constant 20.0 N/m with an amplitude of 0.250 m. What is the maximum kinetic energy of this vibrating mass?  

    2.50 J  
   1.25 J  
   0.625 J  
   It is impossible to give an answer since kinetic energy cannot be determined without knowing the object's mass.
Read 638 times
2 Replies

Related Topics

Replies
wrote...
11 years ago
Sometimes the quantities in physics can't be found from equations they're defined by, but we have to think about the physics in the background of the problem.
We might not have object's mass, but we do know that during the vibrating, a total kinetic energy of the object is converted into elastic potential energy of the spring and vice versa. The elastic potential energy PE = 1/2 x k x s², where s is the maximum strech of the spring, in our case, this is the amplitude s = 0.250 m. So, PE = KE = 0.5 x 20 N/m x (0.250 m)² = 0.625 J.
wrote...
11 years ago
Maximum kinetic energy = (1/2)k*A^2
= (1/2) * 20 * 0.25^2
= 10 * 0.0625
= 0.625 J
New Topic      
Explore
Post your homework questions and get free online help from our incredible volunteers
  462 People Browsing
Related Images
  
 294
  
 259
  
 288
Your Opinion