NANDAX · LEARN WITH SIMULATIONS
Spring–Mass Oscillator
Experiment worksheet · NCERT & competitive learning
Name: _______________________Class: __________Date: __________
Learning objective
Relate stiffness and mass to natural frequency and conservation of energy.
Investigation procedure
- 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.
Observation and reasoning
1. Where is the spring potential energy largest?
2. Does doubling amplitude change the period?
3. By what factor does frequency change if k becomes 4k?
Teacher answer key
1. At extreme displacements x = ±A, when the speed is zero.
2. No, not for the ideal linear spring; period depends only on m and k.
3. It doubles because f ∝ √k.