A mass of 2 kg is attached to a spring with a spring constant of 100 N/m. If the spring is compressed by 0.2 m, what is the spring force acting on the mass?
10 N
40 N
20 N
80 N
The spring force is given by F = -kx,
where k is the spring constant and x is the displacement from the equilibrium position. In this case, the spring is compressed by 0.2 m, so x = -0.2 m (since the displacement is in the opposite direction of the spring's natural lengthening direction).
Plugging in the values,
we get .
so the answer is 20 N.