Answer: v = 2.24 m/s
Explanation: The <u>Law</u> <u>of</u> <u>Conservation</u> <u>of</u> <u>Energy</u> states that total energy is constant in any process and, it cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed.
So, in the toy launcher, the energy of the compressed spring, called <u>Elastic</u> <u>Potential</u> <u>Energy (PE)</u>, transforms into the movement of the plastic sphere, called <u>Kinetic</u> <u>Energy (KE)</u>. Since total energy must be constant:
where the terms with subscript i are related to the initial of the process and the terms with subscript f relates to the final process.
The equation is calculated as:
v = 2.24
The maximum speed the plastic sphere will be launched is 2.24 m/s.