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AP Physics C: Mechanics
3.4 Conservation of Energy
3.3 Potential Energy
IntermediateMCQMathematicalConceptual18.1k
A Cartesian coordinate graph with horizontal axis labeled x and vertical axis labeled U(x). The horizontal axis has tick marks labeled -b, 0, b, and 2b. A single solid curve represents the potential energy function. The curve decreases from the second quadrant to a minimum at the origin (0, 0), rises through the first quadrant passing through x = b, reaches a local maximum at x = 2b, and then turns downward. Two release states are marked on the curve with solid circular dots: one dot is located at x = -b at a vertical height corresponding to U = \dfrac{4}{3}U_0, and a second dot is located at x = +b at a lower vertical height corresponding to U = \dfrac{2}{3}U_0. Bare axes with no gridlines. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.
Potential energy U(x) as a function of position x.
A particle of mass \(m\) moves along the \(x\)-axis in a region where its potential energy is given by \(U(x) = U_0\left[\left(\dfrac{x}{b}\right)^2 - \dfrac{1}{3}\left(\dfrac{x}{b}\right)^3\right]\), where \(U_0\) and \(b\) are positive constants.

Particle 1 is released from rest at \(x = -b\), and an identical Particle 2 is released from rest at \(x = +b\). What is the ratio of the maximum speed of Particle 1 to the maximum speed of Particle 2, \(\dfrac{v_{1,\text{max}}}{v_{2,\text{max}}}\)?

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