In Figure (a) a block of mass m lies on a horizontal frictionless surface and is attached to one end of a horizontal spring (spring constant k) whose other end is fixed. The block is initially at rest at the position where the spring is un-stretched (x = 0) when a constant horizontal force F in the positive direction of the x axis is applied to it. A plot of the resulting kinetic energy of the block versus its position x is shown in Figure. The scale of the figure's vertical axis is set by Ks = 4.0 J.

(a) What is the magnitude of F?

(b) What is the value of k?

Transcribed Image Text:

0. 0.5 1.5 x (m)