A gun of mass is fixed to the front end of a horizontal spring having force constant

PHYSICS · Subjective · AP · Physics 1: Algebra-based · Work Energy and Power · Work Energy and Power

Problem

A gun of mass

20\,\text{kg}

is fixed to the front end of a horizontal spring having force constant

800\,\text{N\,m}^{-1}

. The gun is initially at rest with the spring at its natural length. It fires a

0.020\,\text{kg}

bullet with a speed of

500\,\text{m\,s}^{-1}

relative to the ground. Neglecting any other forces, calculate the maximum compression of the spring produced by the recoil.