AP Physics 1

Activity: Simple Harmonic Motion of a Mass-Spring System (PART 1)

Distance Learning Version

Purpose: To analyze the behavior of a mass-spring system as it undergoes simple harmonic

motion.

Background:
• assumptions:
o ideal spring (i.e., no mass)
o air resistance and friction are negligible

Materials: Hooke’s Law Apparatus (or ring stand, clamp, tension spring, mass hanger, and
ruler), masses, electronic balance, stopwatch “Masses and Springs” PhET simulation:

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/masses-and-springs/latest/masses-and-springs_en.html

(Click on the “Lab” option, located on the right side of the main page.)

Procedure:
PART 1: Observing the motion of your (virtual) mass-spring system
1) Start by adjusting the following settings in the the simulator:
o Minimize the “Energy” graph on the left side of the screen
o Activate the “Displacement, Natural Length” box and the “Mass Equilibrium”
box in the upper right corner
o Slide the “Damping” setting to “None”
o Adjust the “Mass” value at the top of the screen to “200 g”
2) Set up your virtual mass-spring system by hooking the 200 g mass onto the end of the
spring, and lower it to the dashed equilibrium position. If it starts oscillating up and
down, just hit the stop button at the top of the screen, and it will automatically come to a
stop at the equilibrium position.
3) Activate the “Movable Line” box in the upper right, and then position the movable red
dashed line around two stretched spring coils below the blue dashed line.
4) Lift the mass upward so that its center moves from the black dashed line to the red
dashed line (the top of the mass should be at least a little bit below the blue dashed line),
and release it.
5) As you observe the motion, try to answer the following questions:

a) Approximately how much time does it take on average for each oscillation (i.e., back-
and-forth motion)? Use the blue stopwatch on the right side of the screen to measure
it, and record your value below.

(average) time to complete one oscillation = _________

b) As the mass oscillates back and forth…

a. at what position(s) does the mass move the slowest?
b. at what position(s) does the mass move the fastest?
c. at what position(s) is the net force on the mass directed downward?
d. at what position(s) is the net force on the mass directed upward?
e. at what position(s) is the magnitude of the net force the smallest?
f. at what position(s) is the magnitude of the net force the largest?

(If it helps, you can activate the “Velocity” and “Acceleration” vectors, and observe the
motion at either Normal or Slow speed.)
 c) Relative to the equilibrium position, how far does the mass move above that point
when it is at its maximum height? How far does the mass move below the
equilibrium position when it is at its lowest point? Use the virtual meter stick to
measure those values and record them below.

Maximum distance above equilibrium position = __________

Maximum distance below equilibrium position = __________

AVERAGE (max) displacement from equilibrium = ___________

<STOP HERE FOR NOW.

Continue watching the video on Simple Harmonic Motion
until it directs you to return to step 6 in the activity.>
6) Now you’ll practice modeling the simple harmonic motion mathematically.
a) In the space below, use the values for period and amplitude you measured earlier to
write an equation for the position as a function of time for your specific mass-spring
system (in terms of its measured amplitude and period).

b) Now try to test your mathematical model: Choose some arbitrary value for time, and
calculate the position where the mass should be at that time. Set your mass-spring
system into motion, and observe its position at the designated time. (You may need
to observe it in “Slow” motion in order to see its location better. And remember that
x = 0 at the equilibrium position, and your calculator must be set to “radian” mode!)
Did your observations match the model’s prediction?

<Once you have completed 6b, finish watching the last part
of the video lecture on Simple Harmonic Motion.>