You have watched one too many old cartoons and decide to drive around town with a giant spring that is 4 m long and attached to the front of your car. You decide to help a semi truck that is stuck and try to push them with your car. You take a running start, and when you contact the truck the spring in your car compresses 3 m. During which portion of the compression did you do the least work on the spring?
A) During the second meter.
B) During the third meter.
C) During the first meter.
D) The work done is equal for all segments of the trip.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The work done on a spring is proportional to the square of the compression distance (W = 1/2 k x^2). Therefore, the least work is done during the first meter of compression.

You Have Watched One Too Many Old Cartoons and Decide