Work?....maybe just kinematic...(please help! I don't even know what it is!) The spring shown in the figure is compressed 50 cm and used to launch a 100 kg physics student. The track is frictionless until it starts up the incline. The student's coefficient of kinetic friction on the 30 degree incline is 0.15. http://session.masteringphysics.com/problemAsset/1000852/6/knight_Figure_11_54.jpg What is the student's speed just after losing contact with the spring? How far up the incline does the student go? The v_initial is incredibly easy to find, 14.1, but I can't seem to find how far he travels up the incline. I've set it up a few different ways, and each time I get the wrong answer. if Fx = -F_f - F_w*sinθ = ma Fy = n - F_w*cosθ = 0 -> n = m*g*cosθ then shouldn't -umgcosθ - mgsinθ = ma giving you a = -g(ucosθ + sinθ) ? and then the distance could be solved using the v_initial and a using kinematics? But it is wrong? Could someone please explain?