Question

The Cubarb parasite, having pursued Defiance Drake this far was not expecting either her sudden acrobatics, or to be shot by her futuristic slug throwing pistol. Nevertheless, Cubarbs have naturally flexible skin that afford them protection from projectiles, depending of course, on the amount of kinetic energy that the projectiles are carrying. The parasite's skin acts as a spring, with constant k=1.8 x 10^6 N/m, and as long as the deflection is less than 3cm (more than that and the skin breaks, and the parasite likely dies. If the bullet has a mass of 50g, and travels at 300 m/s, does the bullet bounce off the creature, or does it penetrate? How do you know?

Answer 1