The answer to part (b) is about 40 times greater than the acceleration of gravity, so we'd better be wearing our seat belts. Note that the solution didn't require calculation of the velocity of the car. True or False: In the absence of energy losses due to friction, doubling the height of the hill doubles the maximum acceleration delivered by the spring. True False Use the worked example above to help you solve this problem. A 12,000 N car starts from rest and rolls down a hill from a height of 10.0 m (see figure). It then moves across a level surface and collides with a light spring-loaded guardrail. (a) Neglecting any losses due to friction, and ignoring the rotational kinetic energy of the wheels, find the maximum distance the spring is compressed. Assume a spring constant of 1.3 times 10^5 N/m. m (b) Calculate the maximum acceleration of the car after contact with the spring, assuming no frictional losses. m/s^2 (c) If the spring is compressed by only 0.30 m, find the change in the mechanical energy due to friction. J A spring-loaded gun fires a 0.080-kg puck along a tabletop. The puck slides up a curved ramp and flies straight up into the air. (a) If the spring is displaced 25.0 cm from equilibrium and the spring constant is 875 N/m, how high does the puck rise, neglecting friction? x = m (b) If instead it only rises to a height of 5.00 m because of friction, what is the change in mechanical energy? W = J
