Lab 1: The difference between deriving the spring constant (k) from Hooke’s

Law and by measuring period (T)

Author: Dhruv Vaspate
Student Number: 501097440
Course: PCS 125
Section: 40
Instructor: Aidan Brown
Teaching Assistant: Bahareh Chaichypour
Date of Submission: Feb 3rd, 2022
Introduction:
Lab 1 is an interactive experiment performed through the Phet Colorado "Mass and
Springs" simulator. The main goal of this experiment is to figure out what the value of the spring
constant k is. This value will be determined using two methodologies and three experiments. The
first experiment looks at how various amplitudes (with a fixed mass) alter the spring system's
period. The second experiment will look at how different masses affect the period, and the third
and final experiment will assess the change in spring distance induced by gravity. The second
and third experiments are more conclusive in terms of determining the spring constant since they
use measurements of mass displacement and period to obtain a definitive value for k. To
understand how a spring system behaves in simple harmonic motion, compare the values of k
discovered in the previous two experiments. This will aid in grasping the concepts underlying the
basic formulas encountered in the lab.

Theory:
The two main experiments of the lab will focus on finding the k value. However, each
experiment will have different methods to calculate it.
The last experiment will use the Hooke’s Law:

The second experiment will utilize the period formula:

The derivation of the period formula can be found through the Hooke’s Law formula. The
derivation process is displayed below in Fig 1.
The period formula, with measured values for the mass and period, can be used to
rearranged to find the spring constant k:
Fig 1.
Derivation of
Period
Formula
Experiment Predictions:
Experiment 1:
If a fixed mass is to be released from varying amplitudes acting under simple harmonic
motion, the period of motion for each amplitude will not be modified and will remain constant or
the same. This is because amplitude is not included as a variable in the period formula. As a
result, it has no bearing on an oscillation's period.
Experiment 2:
If varying incremented levels of masses are released from a fixed amplitude acting under
simple harmonic motion, then the time taken for each oscillation will increase along with the
increase of mass. This is because mass has a direct effect on the period as it is included in the
equation and is proportionate to it. As a result, when one variable (mass or period) rises, the
other rises as well.
Experiment 3:
If varying incremented levels of masses are to be attached to the spring, the force of
gravity will increase the distance between the spring's original location and its stretched position
with the heaviest load. The spring constant will remain constant in this scenario, and the weight
force and spring stretch will have proportional effects on each other.

Procedure:
Experiment 1:
The spring constant and the mass of the attached object are the two key controlled
variables in the first experiment. The amplitude will be the variable that will be changed
incrementally. In this experiment, the period will be the measured value because it will assist
identify whether increasing the amplitude of the system has an affect on it.
The mass of each trial will be kept constant at 100 grams (0.1 kilograms), and the number
of oscillations will be kept constant at 10 per period. The amplitude, on the other hand, will vary
from trial to trial. It will begin with a 10 cm amplitude and gradually grow by 5 cm each time.
There will be a total of 5 trials. The trials will begin at 10 cm and terminate at 30 cm. The
amplitude will be the independent variable in this situation, while the period will be the
dependent variable. The time it takes for the 10 oscillations to complete the experiment is the
measured period. The time it takes for the oscillations to occur will be measured by an inbuilt
stopwatch.
The table will also contain uncertainty data that is caused by the stopwatch as that is the
device used for measuring the period. The uncertainty will be ½ less than the lowest precision on
the stopwatch, this value is: 0.01 seconds. Thus, the uncertainty will be: 0.005 seconds.
Experiment 2:
The spring constant and amplitude are the controlled variables in the second experiment.
The mass attached to the spring is the variable that will be susceptible to change in this scenario.
The period value is calculated by calculating the time it takes to complete 10 oscillations.
The goal of this experiment is to figure out what the spring constant k is. The mass would be the
independent variable in this experiment, whereas the time would be the dependent variable.
Thus, plotting a line graph with the period value squared and the mass of each trial is the best
way to find the k value. This works well with the period equation since it produces a numerical
value for k:

The mass will begin at 0.1 kilograms and gradually increase by 0.25 kilograms each trial, for a
total of 8 trials. As a result, the mass will range from 0.1 to 0.3 kilograms. The period will be
measured for 10 oscillations every trial. All the measured, known, and constant data will be
stored in the data table. Similarly, to experiment 1, the uncertainty will be ½ times less than the
stopwatch's lowest precision, which is 0.01 seconds. As a result, the uncertainty is 0.005
seconds.
Experiment 3:
The spring constant and the force of gravity are the two controlled variables in the third
and final experiment. The distance the spring stretches is the only variable that is supposed to be
measured in the experiment. The period is irrelevant in this experiment because the spring
system does not have to oscillate.
To conduct this experiment, simply measure the spring's initial stretch and subtract it
from the amount it stretches when a weight is added to it. To achieve exact results, rulers and
movable lines that will be used as markers will be employed. The masses will be the independent
variable in this experiment, with increments of 0.05 kilograms starting at 0.05 kilograms and
ending with 0.3 kilograms (6 trials). The displacement/stretch of the spring will be measured in
centimeters with a ruler but reported in meters.
 Since the dependent variable is the length of the spring's expansion, the uncertainty value will be
pertaining to the length, which is what this experiment is about. The uncertainty value will be ½
of the ruler's smallest increment (0.5 centimeters).
In order to achieve the aim of this experiment, the displacement of the spring will be plotted
against the force of gravity (mass x acceleration due to gravity) in a line graph. The slope of this
graph will be the value of k.

Results and Calculations:

Table 1: The Affect of Amplitude on Time of the System
Mass Amplitude Time Taken for 10 Oscillations Time Per Oscillation Uncertainty
(kg) (m) (s) (s) (s)
0.1 0.1 8.87 0.887 0.005
0.1 0.15 8.88 0.888 0.005
0.1 0.2 8.9 0.89 0.005
0.1 0.25 8.92 0.892 0.005
0.1 0.3 8.93 0.893 0.005

Amplitude versus Period of An Oscillation

0.894
0.893
0.892
Time per Oscillation (s)

0.891
0.89
0.889
0.888
0.887
0.886
0.885
0.884
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Amplitude (m)

Table 2: The Affect of Mass on Time taken to complete an Oscillation

Mass Amplitude Time Taken for 10 Time Per Time Squared Uncertainty
(kg) (m) Oscillations (s) Oscillation (s) (s2) (s)
0.1 0.3 8.87 0.887 0.786769 0.005
0.125 0.3 9.93 0.993 0.986049 0.005
0.15 0.3 10.86 1.086 1.179396 0.005
0.175 0.3 11.71 1.171 1.371241 0.005
0.2 0.3 12.58 1.258 1.582564 0.005
0.225 0.3 13.42 1.342 1.800964 0.005
0.25 0.3 14.03 1.403 1.968409 0.005
0.275 0.3 14.58 1.458 2.125764 0.005
0.3 0.3 15.37 1.537 2.362369 0.005

Mass versus Period of an Oscillation Squared

Time Period of an Oscillation Squared (s^2)

2.5
f(x) = 0.195488233333333 x + 0.596283833333333
2

1.5

0.5

0
0.1 0.125 0.15 0.175 0.2 0.225 0.25 0.275 0.3
Mass (kg)

The value for slope needs to be taken into the period equation to find the value of k.

Table 3: The Affect of Different Masses on the Displacement of the Spring

Mass (kg) Displacement of the Spring (m) Fnet: mxg Uncertainty (m)
 0.05 0.1 0.4905 0.05
0.1 0.2 0.981 0.05
0.15 0.3 1.4715 0.05
0.2 0.4 1.962 0.05
0.25 0.5 2.4525 0.05
0.3 0.6 2.943 0.05

The k value for this experiment is the slope value. Thus, the k value is 4.905 N/m

Discussion and Conclusion:

In conclusion, the predictions were supported by their experiments.
Experiment 1 revealed that while the spring's amplitude grew, the period stayed constant.
Because of the uncertainty and the reaction time delay induced by human error, the period only

Force of the Spring versus the Displacement

3.5

3
f(x) = 0.4905 x
2.5

2
Force (N)

1.5

0.5

0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Displacement (m)

changed by a modest factor. Experiment 2 also backed up the notion. The period value rose
along with the mass, showing a proportional growth in their respective values. This supported the
hypothesis that the mass and period values are directly proportional. The spring displacement
and mass values were likewise directly related in the third and last experiment. As the mass
value increased, the spring displacement increased as well, confirming the hypothesis that mass
and k value are related.
The experiment was also successful in determining the k value. The value was calculated
to be 5.05 N/m using the slope of the graph from the second experiment, and the slope of the
graph from the third experiment confirmed this, with a slope of 4.905, k = 4.905 N/m. These two
values are near to each other, with an average of about 5 N/m. As a result of the experiment, the
ultimate spring constant was 5 N/m.

References:
Brown, Aidan. “Simple Harmonic Oscillator Part 1” PCS125-Physics: Waves and Fields, 2022,

Brown, Aidan. “Simple Harmonic Oscillator Part 2” PCS125-Physics: Waves and Fields, 2022,