An industrial robotic gripper uses a calibrated spring-loaded mechanism to hold fragile components safely. When the gripper is fully engaged, the internal spring is compressed.
The compression of the spring is 0.15 m0.15\text{ m}0.15 m. The spring constant is 1600 N/m1600\text{ N/m}1600 N/m.
Calculate the elastic potential energy stored in the spring when the gripper is fully engaged.
Use the equation:
elastic potential energy=0.5×spring constant×(extension)2 \text{elastic potential energy} = 0.5 \times \text{spring constant} \times (\text{extension})^2 elastic potential energy=0.5×spring constant×(extension)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.