Problems Involving Elastic Potential Energy 1. A 2.0 kg mass is placed against a spring of force constant 8.0 x 10' N/m, which has been compressed 0.22 m. The spring is released and the mass moves along the horizontal, frictionless surface up the slope. Calculate: a) the maximum elastic potential energy of the spring. b) the maximum velocity of the mass. c) the maximum vertical height of the mass. 2. A 10.0 g rifle bullet strikes wooden block of mass 490 g. The block is at rest on a horizontal, frictionless surface and is attached to a spring bumper as shown. After the collision, the bullet becomes embedded in the block; the impact compresses the spring, whose force constant is 1.0 x 102 N/m, by 20.0 cm. plot orla a) What is the maximum potential energy of the spring? b) Determine the velocity of the block-bullet combination after the collision. ) At what velocity did the bullet strike the block? d) What was the initial kinetic energy of the bullet? Explain any difference between a) and d). 3. Two trolleys, of mass 1.2 kg and 4.8 kg, are at rest with a compressed spring between them, held that way by a string tied around both. When the string is cut, the trolleys move apart. If the force constant of the spring is 2400 N/m, by how much must it have been compressed in order that the 4.8 kg cart move off at 2.0 m/s? enaWenA