Question

A burrito gun vertically launches a 250 g burrito 4.75 meters into the air. Determine the minimum energy stored in the spring when the burrito gun was loaded. Show an energy bar chart in your solution.

Answer 1

Find the potential energy:

$$E_p=mgh=0.25·9.8·7.75=18.99\text{ J}.$$

And this is the minimum energy stored in the spring. Energy bar chart for the moment when the spring was about to release the burrito: