A 0.417-kg block is attached to a horizontal spring that is at its equilibrium l

Question

A 0.417-kg block is attached to a horizontal spring that is at its equilibrium length, and whose force constant is 16.7 N/m. The block rests on a frictionless surface. A 0.0500 kg wad of putty is thrown horizontally at the block, hitting it with an initial speed of 2.42 m/s and sticking. How far does the putty-block system compress the spring? (answer in cm)

I think you use

mu=(M+m)vf to solve for vf

then you use mvf^2 = kx^2 to solve for x

but I am still getting the wrong final answer so please work through this problem so i can see where I went wrong! thanks!

Explanation / Answer

use (m+M)vf^2 = kx^2 mu=(M+m)vf vf=mu/(M+m) vf=0.259 m/s since(m+M)vf^2 = kx^2 so x=0.04 m

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