Question: A clever engineer designs a sprong that obeys the force law F x = -q(x - x eq ) 3 , where x eq is

A clever engineer designs a “sprong” that obeys the force law Fx = -q(x - xeq)3, where xeq is the equilibrium position of the end of the sprong and q is the sprong constant. For simplicity, we’ll let xeq = 0 m. Then Fx = -qx3.

a. What are the units of q?
b. Find an expression for the potential energy of a stretched or compressed sprong.
c. A sprong-loaded toy gun shoots a 20 g plastic ball. What is the launch speed if the sprong constant is 40,000, with the units you found in part a, and the sprong is compressed 10 cm? Assume the barrel is frictionless.

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