UNDERSTAND THE SCIENCE
The physics behind the experiment
For an ideal horizontal spring without friction, F = −kx and ω = √(k/m). The period is T = 2π√(m/k). Total energy E = ½kA² remains constant as kinetic and spring potential energy exchange.
Try this guided investigation
- Choose k = 40 N/m and m = 1.0 kg.
- Watch displacement and the two energy bars over one period.
- Double the mass, then double the stiffness. Predict the period changes.
All numerical values follow the model assumptions stated here; artwork is schematic, not a scale engineering drawing.