A high-tension safety barrier designed for highway runoff zones incorporates a heavy-duty steel spring mechanism. When the barrier is pre-tensioned, the spring is compressed.
The compression of the spring is 0.15 m0.15\text{ m}0.15 m. The spring constant of the barrier spring is 1600 N/m1600\text{ N/m}1600 N/m.
Calculate the elastic potential energy stored in the spring when the barrier is pre-tensioned.
Use the equation:
elastic potential energy=0.5×spring constant×(compression)2 \text{elastic potential energy} = 0.5 \times \text{spring constant} \times (\text{compression})^2 elastic potential energy=0.5×spring constant×(compression)244 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Physics 1.1 Energy changes in a system, and the ways energy is stored before and after such changes, covering 1.1.1 Energy stores and systems, 1.1.2 Changes in energy, 1.1.3 Energy changes in systems, and 1.1.4 Power. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.