In: Physics
A bullet is fired horizontally at a stationary 7.0 kg target. The target sits on a frictionless horizontal
surface and is connected to a spring on the backside of the target. The spring has a spring constant
of 5000 N/m. The 11.0 g bullet is traveling horizontally at 675 m/s the moment before it strikes
the target. After 1 ms, the bullet is embedded into the target and begins to oscillate. Ignore air
resistance.
(a) Determine the speed of the block immediately after the collision.
(b) Find the period and amplitude of the resulting simple harmonic motion.
(c) On separate graphs, plot the position vs. time, velocity vs. time, and acceleration vs. time for the system starting when the bullet is fully embedded into the target. Be sure to clearly label
your axes and the scale of each graph.
(d) On a single graph, plot the potential energy, kinetic energy, and total mechanical energy as a function of time for the system starting when the bullet is fully embedded into the target. Be sure to clearly label your axes and the scale of your graph.