A 0.15-kg mass is attached to a vertical spring and hangs at rest a distance of 4.6 cm below its original position (▼ Figure 5.9). An additional 0.50-kg mass is then suspended from the first mass and 
the system is allowed to descend to a new equilibrium position. hat is the total extension of the spring? (Neglect the mass of the spring.)
THINKING IT THROUGH. The spring constant k appears in Equation 5.3. Therefore, to find the value of k for a particular instance, the spring force and distance the spring is stretched (or compressed) must be known.

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llllllllllllll # F F-mig (a) F= (my + mg (b) AFIGURE 5.9 Determining the spring constant and the work done in stretching a spring See Example 5.4 for description.