Randall D. Knight — Interactions and Potential Energy: Problem 43

You have been hired to design a spring-launched roller coaster that will carry two passengers per car. The car goes up a 10-m-high hill, then descends 15 m to the track’s lowest point. You’ve determined that the spring can be compressed a maximum of 2.0 m and that a loaded car will have a maximum mass of 400 kg. For safety reasons, the spring constant should be 10% larger than the minimum needed for the car to just make it over the top. a. What spring constant should you specify? b. What is the maximum speed of a 350 kg car if the spring is compressed the full amount?