A 5.20 g pellet is shot horizontally from a BB gun at a speed of 29.1 m/s into a 20.8 g wooden block. The wooden block is attached to a spring and lies on a frictionless table. If the collision is inelastic and the spring constant k = 22.0 N/m, what is the maximum compression of the spring?

Answer 1

momentum is conserved with the pellet/block

find the velocity of the pellet/block

the KE of the p/b is the work that compresses the spring

1/2 m v^2 = 1/2 k x^2