Labs / Physics
Springs (SHM)
Grab the block, pull it up or down, and let go. It bounces in simple harmonic motion while the coil stretches and squeezes, and the graph at the bottom draws its position over time. Change the spring stiffness and the mass to reshape the motion.
x 18.0 cmT ≈ 1.81 s
What to try
- Stiffen the spring without touching the mass. Does each bounce take more time or less?
- Pile on more mass. Why does a heavier block bob more slowly, even on the same spring?
- Release the block from a big pull, then a tiny one. Does the amount you stretch it change the period at all?
- Turn on damping. What shape does the position graph settle into as the bounces fade?
- Can you find a stiffness and mass that give exactly a one-second period? What does T = 2π√(m/k) predict?