An 6.82 kg block drops straight down from a height of 1.31 m, striking a platform spring having a force constant of 1.16 103 N/m. Find the maximum compression of the spring

1 answer

You must mean k = 1.16*10^3 N/m

The decrease in gravitational P.E. equals the stored spring P.E when it stops (at maximum compression, X).

M g (1.31 + X) = (1/2) k X^2

The X is on the left because gravity does additional work during compression. A quadratic equation solution will be needed. Your teacher may expect you to neglect the X term and get a simpler (but approximate) answer.