Question

Mickey, a Daredevil mouse of mass 0.0213 kg, is attempting to become the world's first "mouse cannonball." He is loaded into a spring-powered gun pointing up at some angle and is shot into the air. The guns spring had a force constant of 73.5 N/m and is initially compressed a distance of 0.141 m from it's relaxed position.
If Mickey has a constant horizontal speed of 2.45 m/s while he is flying through the air, how high h above his initial location in the gun does Mickey soar? Assume g=9.81 m/s^2

Answer 1

Take zero level of gravitational potential energy at initial position of mouse. From energy conservation principle the initial potential energy of the spring will be equal to sum of final gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy at maximum height.