- #1
azure kitsune
- 65
- 0
Homework Statement
Two children are playing a game in which they try to hit a small box on the floor with a marble fired from a spring-loaded gun that is mounted on a table. The target box is 2.20 m horizontally from the edge of the table. Bobby compresses the spring 1.10 cm, but the center of the marble falls 27.0 cm short of the center of the box. How far should Rhoda compress the spring to score a direct hit? Assume that neither the spring or the ball encounters friction in the gun.
Homework Equations
Elastic potential energy = [tex]1/2 \cdot kx^2[/tex]
(kinematics equations)
The Attempt at a Solution
Let x be the distance that the person compresses the spring. Let d be the horizontal distance the marble travels from the end of the table. (So we are trying to find an x such that d = 2.20 m).
Through a lot of crazy math, involving projectile motion, breaking into x,y components, conservation of energy, etc., I ended up with:
[tex]d = x * \sqrt{ \dfrac{ 2 k \Delta y } { m g } } [/tex] (where k = spring constant, delta y = height of the table, m = mass of object, g = gravitational acceleration)
The important thing about that result was that d and x are directly proportional. Since they give you one pair of (x,d), I could find the constant of proportionality to solve that d = 2.20 m when x = 1.25 cm.
I was wondering if there was any easier way to show that x and d were directly proportional?