Lab+18+-+Spring+with+Mass

Lab 18 - Spring with Mass

Procedure
 * 1) A 15N/m spring was attached to a ring stand.
 * 2) For the Amplitude vs. Period test, a 110g mass was suspended from the spring while being pulled back to varying amplitudes of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10cm.
 * 3) For the Mass vs. Period test, varying masses of 110, 130, 150, 170, and 190g were pulled back to an amplitude of 5cm.
 * 4) 10 cycles/periods were counted and timed.

Graphs

We know that the formula for the period of a mass oscillating on a spring (13.11) is T = 2π √(m/k) where m is the suspended mass and k is the spring constant. It was found that no matter what the amplitude of the harmonic motion, the periods would remain constant. This does not come as a surprise seeing that the aforementioned formula does not depend upon the amplitude of the oscillation. However, for the Mass vs. Period test, it was found that increasing the mass suspended from the spring increased the period. This also does not come as a surprise seeing that the period length is directly proportional to the square root of the mass meaning that an increase in the mass would increase the period length.