Spring scales are often used in markets for weighing produce and simply consist of a spring connection to a gauge that displays how far the spring has stretched and correlates that to the weight of the produce. (a) What is the spring constant (k) for the spring in the scale if the spring stretches .96 cm for .5 kg of potatoes? Number N/m (b) What is the mass of a collection of potatoes if the spring stretches 2.8 cm? Number kg (c) How many cm apart are the quarter-kilogram marks on the scale? (Note: depending on your random values, this may be a much larger distance then you would expect) Number cm

Spring Potential Energy

The potential energy is the energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position or the energy held by the object due to its position relative to other objects, its force like stresses, charge, and other factors affecting the particles of the body. The potential energy is the measure of the net work done by or on the body. The spring potential energy is the potential energy stored due to the deformation of an elastic spring and this elasticity is due to the stretched spring. The elasticity is the ability of a solid-state matter to come back to its equilibrium position or original position after any kind of external force is acted on it. It is also known as Elastic potential energy. The potential energy here is caused due to the displacement of the spring from its equilibrium position to another position and this potential energy is equal to the net work done due to the stretching of the spring. It also resembles the same mechanics of the oscillation of a simple pendulum, where due to the external force, the object moves from its equilibrium position to its maximum ends and the periodic motion continues till it comes back to the equilibrium position to rest.