A ball of mass m falls freely from rest. When it has reached a speed v, it strikes a vertical spring. The spring is compressed by distance y before the ball moves upwards again. Assume that all the energy the ball loses becomes elastic potential energy in the spring what is the average force exerted by the spring during its compression. Share with your friends Share 1 Vijay Shankar Yadav answered this Dear Student, kinetic energy gained by ball =12mv2let spring constant of spring is k then spring energy = kinetic energy 12kx2=12mv2x=mkvand average accelaration during the compression of spring a=v22x ( using third equation of motion)a=v2kmso average force =ma=v2km Regards -1 View Full Answer