Practice Elastic Potential Energy in Physics
Use these practice problems to test your method after reviewing the concept explanation and worked examples.
Quick Recap
Energy stored in an elastic object that has been stretched or compressed from its natural length.
A stretched rubber band 'wants' to snap back—that desire is stored energy.
Example 1
easyA spring with spring constant k = 400 \text{ N/m} is compressed by 0.05 \text{ m}. How much elastic potential energy is stored in the spring?
Example 2
mediumA toy dart gun has a spring (k = 250 \text{ N/m}) compressed by 0.08 \text{ m}. If the dart has a mass of 0.01 \text{ kg}, what speed does the dart have when it leaves the gun?
Example 3
mediumA bungee cord (k = 50 \text{ N/m}) stretches 4 \text{ m} beyond its natural length when a jumper reaches the lowest point. How much elastic PE is stored?
Example 4
hardA 0.2 \text{ kg} ball is launched vertically by a spring (k = 500 \text{ N/m}) compressed by 0.1 \text{ m}. How high does the ball rise above the release point? Use g = 9.8 \text{ m/s}^2.