A type of toy catapult consists of a movable plunger which has a spring attached as shown above. The handle was pulled down to fully compress the spring and on release the metal ball of mass O. 1 kg (weight 1 N) was projected 0.75 m vertically. 

a. i What type of energy is stored in a compressed spring? 

ii What happens to this stored energy when the handle Of the plunger is released?

b. Calculate the maximum potential energy acquired by the metal ball from the catapult. Write down the formula that you use and show your working. Take the acceleration due to gravity to be 10 m/s².

c. Explain why the maximum potential energy gained by the metal ball is less than the original stored energy of the spring.