Problem 7.10: A spring gun


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A spring gun is loaded with a 500-gram projectile (position is given in centimeters and time is given in seconds). The spring is massless and therefore has no kinetic energy. Restart.

  1. How much potential energy is converted to kinetic energy in the spring gun?
  2. How much potential energy has been converted to kinetic energy when the ball is at the following positions: -5 cm, -4 cm, -3 cm, -2 cm, -1 cm, and 0 cm?
  3. Plot the potential energy of the spring as a function of distance.