now suppose that we have attached not just two springs in series, but N springs. Write an equation that expresses the effective spring constant of the combination using the spring constant of the original spring k and the number of springs N

Explanation:

For this exercise let's use hooke's law

         F = - k x

where x is the displacement from the equilibrium position.

        x =

if we have several springs in series, the total displacement is the sum of the displacement for each spring, F the external force applied to the springs

       x_ {total} = ∑ x_i

we substitute

       x_ {total} =  ∑ -F / ki

       F / k_ {eq} =  -F  

      1 / k_ {eq} =  ∑ 1 / k_i

if all the springs are the same

     k_i = k

get the total number of pieces of fruit and divide it by 4 to get the average. the result is the answer to the problem. 14 total number of fruits and there are 4 members. 14 divided by 4 is equals to 3.5.