Spring Oscillator Worksheet
Goal: Investigate how the mass and the spring stiffness set the period of a mass on a spring, and how energy moves between the spring and the moving mass.
What to do
- Press Reset (1 kg, k = 20 N/m, 0.5 m amplitude). Record the period and total energy.
- Press Reset, then “Stiffer spring”, and record. Repeat with “Heavier mass” and “Small stretch”, pressing Reset before each.
- Press Reset and drag the Time slider slowly from the far left. Stop when the displacement reads 0 m and note the velocity.
Record your results
| Setting | Period | Total energy |
|---|---|---|
| Default (1 kg, 20 N/m, 0.5 m) | ||
| Stiffer spring (60 N/m) | ||
| Heavier mass (4 kg) | ||
| Small stretch (0.2 m) |
Questions
Compare the default and “Heavier mass” rows. How did making the mass 4 times larger change the period?
The stiffer spring is 3 times stiffer. How did the period change, and why?
Did the amplitude change the period? Did it change the energy?
At the moment the displacement is 0 m, how fast is the mass moving? Where has the energy gone?
Use E = ½kA² to explain why the stiffer spring stores 7.5 J with the same 0.5 m amplitude.
Challenge: what spring stiffness would give the 4 kg mass the original 1.405 s period? Predict, then test it.
Free from The Physics Lab · thephysicslab.org · HS-PS3-1: Use a computational model to calculate energy changes between the components of a system.