Two springs have spring constants (k_{1}) and (k_{2}>k_{1}). Connected as shown in Figure P8.52, they act like

Question:

Two springs have spring constants $k_{1}$ and $k_{2}>k_{1}$. Connected as shown in Figure P8.52, they act like one spring. Compute the spring constant of the combination, and determine whether it is smaller than $k_{1}$, cqual to $k_{1}$, between $k_{1}$ and $k_{2}$, equal to $k_{2}$, or greater than $k_{2}$.

Data from Figure P8.52