Group 3

1. Fatimah Azzahra
2. Khairul Afni
3. Laura Vannessa Y Pasaribu
3. Mira Angelin Munthe
4. Rotua Sianturi

Analysis of virtual lab by group 3

From the video above we can see the relationship between acceleration and position, such
as the linear relationship given by the equation. Linear just means that the variable in an equation
appears only with a power of one. So 𝑥 is linear but 𝑥 2 is non-linear. Also any function like cos(𝑥)
is non-linear.
In math and physics, linear generally means "simple" and non-linear means "complicated".
The theory for solving linear equations is very well developed because linear equations are simple
enough to be solveable. Non-linear equations can usually not be solved exactly and are the subject
of much on-going research.
We can see the formula is:
𝑥 ′′ = − 𝑘⁄𝑚 𝑥
Where:
𝑥 = Position
𝑥 ′′ = Acceleration
𝑚 = Mass
𝑘 = spring stiffness

Also from this equation we know that there is a simple linear relationship between
acceleration and position. The mass and spring stiffness affect the slope of this line.
 Increasing mass makes the line less steep.
 Increasing spring stiffness makes the line steeper.
From the explanation above, we can also find out how the mass or stiffness of a spring can
affect the relationship between an acceleration and a position. Then how can the mass or stiffness
of the spring affect the period or frequency of oscillations? We can see the analytic solution.
 An analytic solution uses mathematics to find the solution instead of the brute force of the
computer. The advantage is that we can get some more insight from the analytic solution, instead
of having to analyze zillions of numbers that come from a numerical solution. With no damping
(b = 0) and the block initially not moving, the analytic solution is given by:

𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑥0 cos(√𝑘⁄𝑚 𝑡)

Where 𝑥0 = initial position of the block and t = time. The period of the oscillation is the

time it takes to repeat. From the solution we see that the oscillation repeats when √𝑘⁄𝑚 𝑡 = 2𝜋,

and so the period is:

𝑡 = 2𝜋√𝑚⁄𝑘

The frequency is the inverse of the period:

1 𝑚
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = √ ⁄𝑘
2𝜋
So we predict that
 Increasing mass by 4 times doubles the period and halves the frequency.
 Increasing spring stiffness by 4 times halves the period and doubles the frequency.
You can check these predictions by modifying the parameters on the simulation (you'll
need a stopwatch to time the frequency).