To what extent does the value of the springs constant change

when deriving it by measuring the oscillation period in

comparison to deriving it through Hooke’s law?
PCS 125; Section: 38
Professor: Aidan Brown
Teachers Assistant: Bahareh Chaichypour

Introduction:
The aim of this experiment is to acquire the value of the springs constant (k) in the phet.colarado
“Mass and Spring” simulation through measurements of the oscillation periods of spring and
through the measurement of the displacement of the mass in conjunction with Hooke’s law. The
first experiment will explore the relationship between the amplitude that the masses are released
from and the time taken for the oscillation. The other two experiments will be focused on
acquiring a value for k, these two values for k will then be compared and contrasted from each
other to not only explore the properties of a spring system during simple harmonic motion but to
also further understand the concepts behind the formulas in relation to the system. The second
experiment will measure how different increments of weight impact the time taken for an period
to complete whilst the third and final experiment will focus of measure the expansion of the
spring caused by different increments of masses in the presence of gravity.

Theory:
The two methods of calculating k will acquire the constant through their own respective
constants. The first method of measuring the oscillation periods of the spring will be utilized in
combination with the following formula:
T s=2 π
√ m
k
By utilizing known values for the mass of the weights and measuring the time period of the
oscillations, this formula can be re-arrange in terms of k as depicted below:
2
4mπ
k=
T 2s
The second method on the other had utilizes Hooke’s law which is:
F s=−kx
The first equation can be derived from Hooke’s through as illustrated in figure 1:

Hypotheses:

Experiment 1: If a weight were to be released at different amplitudes, then the time period taken
for each oscillation in each trial for each increment would remain the same. This is due to the
fact that according to the first equations provided above, the amplitude that the masses are
released from has no affect on the time period per oscillation.

Experiment 2: If different increments of weight were to be released at the same amplitude with
all other variables impacting the simple harmonic motion remaining constant as well, then the
time taken per oscillation would increase as the mass increases. This is due to the fact that in the
first equation provided above, the mass is the numerator in the fraction, thus equating to the
value of the time period increasing as it increases.

Experiment 3: If different increments of weight were to be added to the spring in the presence of
gravity, then the spring will expand the most with this highest mass attached to it. This is due to
the following equation: Weight=springs constant × expansionof spring since we know that the
springs constant will remain constant, as the weight increases the only factor that can increase to
make the two sides of the equation equivalent to each other is the expansion of the spring.
Figure 1: Deriving formula 1 from newtons 2nd law and Hooke’s law
Procedure:

Experiment 1:
In the first experiment the controlled variables will be the springs constant, the number of
oscillations, and lastly, the mass of the weight used. The mass will be kept constant at 100
grams, the number of oscillations will be kept constant at 10 oscillations per independent
variable increment and lastly the springs constant will remain at the same magnitude throughout
the entirety of the experiment. The independent variable in this experiment will be the amplitude
that the mass will released from. The mass will be released from five different set initial non-
equilibrium positions and will increase in increments of 5cm starting with 5cm (ie: the
increments will be 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 centimeters). The dependent variable will be the time
taken to complete 10 oscillations. The time will be recorded via a stop watch which will record
the time in seconds. The results for experiment one will be placed in data table 1.

The uncertainty will be the testers reaction time due to the nature of this experiment being
heavily dependent on the tester stopping the stop-watch on time. In an effort to help increase the
accuracy of this experiment, the time take for 10 oscillations will be measured since this will
reduce the magnitude of the random uncertainty by ten fold and thus making the results gathered
through the experiment more accurate and reliable. Since the same tester will be conducting all
three experiments, the uncertainty value will remain the same as the value measured in this
experiment.

Experiment 2:
In this experiment, the controlled variables will only be the magnitude of the springs constant,
amplitude which will be 10 cm, and, the number of oscillations that the mass completes which
will be 10. Since the aim of this experiment is to find the value of the springs constant through
the first formula, the mass (the independent variable) will changing and plotted against the
squared value time taken to complete a single oscillation (the dependent variable) in a line graph.
The gradient of the slope created will then be utilized in order to find the springs constant by
dividing it underneath 4π2. This works due to the fact that:
2 2
4π 4 π × mass
2
= 2
=springs constant (k)
period period
mass

The mass wi increments will increase by 50 grams starting from 50 grams (ie: the increments
will be 50, 100, 150, and, 200 grams). Similar to the previous experiment, the dependent variable
will be the time taken to complete 10 oscillations, however, when plotted on the graph the value
will be squared in order to adhere to the format of the first equation. The time will be recorded
via a stop watch which will record the time in seconds. The results for experiment one will be
placed in data table 2.

Experiment 3:
In this experiment, the controlled variables will be the gravity, as well as the springs constant
magnitude. Since the aim of this experiment is to measure the displacement of the spring under
gravity with different masses on it, the spring will not need to oscillate and thus time and number
of oscillations are not relevant variables within this experiment. The methodology to conduct this
experiment is simply measuring the initial stretch of the spring and subtract it from the amount it
stretches when a weight is added to it. Rulers and movable lines that will be used as markers will
be utilized in order to ensure accurate results. The independent variable in this experiment will
be the masses which will increase in increments of 50 grams starting from 50 grams (ie: the
increments will be 50, 100, 150, and, 200 grams); whilst the dependent variable in this
experiment will be the displacement/stretch of the spring which will be measured in a ruler in
centimeters.

Due to the fact that the length of the springs expansion is the dependent variable, the uncertainty
value utilized in the previous two experiments will not be used as it deals with time rather than
length which is what this experiment focuses on. Instead half of the smallest increment of the
ruler will be used as the uncertainty.

In order to achieve the aim of this experiment, the displacement of the spring will be plotted
against the mass of the weights used and the gradient of the graph will the be divided underneath
the value of the gravity in order to find the value of the springs constant.

Results and Calculations:

Table 1: How does the amplitude that the masses are released from impact time taken per
oscillation of said mass
Amplitude (cm) Mass (g) Time taken to Time taken per Uncertainty (s)
complete 10 oscillation (s)
oscillations (s)
5 100 19.620 1.962 0.010
10 100 19.640 1.964 0.010
15 100 19.710 1.971 0.010
20 100 19.600 1.960 0.010
25 100 19.590 1.959 0.010

Table 2: How does the mass of the weight impact the oscillation time period
Mass (g) Amplitude Time taken to Time taken Time Uncertainty (s)
(cm) complete 10 per oscillation squared
oscillations (s) (s) (s2)
50 10 14.19 1.419 2.013 0.010
100 f(x) = NaN x10
+ NaN 18.12 1.812 3.283 0.010
How mass impacts time squared of a singular
Time of one oscillation squared (s2)

150 10 21.17 2.117 4.481 0.010

200 10 23.82oscillation2.382 5.673 0.010
12

10

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Mass of weight (kg)

 2
4π
k=
slope
2
4π
⇒ k=
1.2179
⇒ k=32.415 N/m

Table 3: How does the mass of the weights impact the expansion of the spring under 9.8 g’s of force.
Mass (g) Overall displacement of spring (cm) Uncertainty (cm)
50 10.0 0.5
100 15.0 0.5
150 19.0 0.5
200 26.0 0.5

How mass impacts the expansion of the spring

Displacement of the spring (m)

0.3

0.25
f(x) = 1.04 x + 0.045
0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22

Mass of weight (kg)

gravity
k=
slope
9.8
⇒ k=
1.04
⇒ k=9.42 N/m
Discussion and conclusions:
In conclusion all of the hypotheses were supported by the data collected from the experiments;
the first experiment had extremely similar times taken per oscillation and the minor variations is
within the uncertainty limit and is likely the result of human error and reaction time. The data
from the second experiment also supported the hypothesis initially formed with time taken per
oscillation increasing by around three to four seconds with each weight increment increasing by
50 grams. The final experiment also yielded a similar outcome with the hypothesis being
supported by the data as the overall displacement of the spring increased almost linearly by 5
centimeters with every 50 grams added to the weight. Overall proving that all the formulas and
the deriving of formulas were correct and worked in experiments.

However, this being said this experiment did fail to identify the correct springs constant value for
either the second or third experiment. This is due to the fact that despite the magnitude of the
springs constant not changing through either of those experiments, the value that both the
experiments acquired for it were drastically different, therefore implying that the difference in k
values did not come from the miniscule uncertainties but rather from procedure utilized to
conduct the experiment.

Overall this experiment was successful in proving the relationships between different variables
within a spring system through the usage of the formulas initially mentioned, however, failed to
accurately acquire the value of the unknown springs constant.

References:

Works Cited

Brown, Adian. “Simple Harmonic Motion” PCS125-Physics: Waves and Fields, 2022,

A Hooke’s Law Spring Determine the Spring Constant.

“Hooke’s Law Formula.” VEDANTU, www.vedantu.com/formula/hookes-law-formula.

Accessed 27 Jan. 2022.

“Motion of a Mass on a Spring.” Physicsclassroom.com, 2019,

www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/Lesson-0/Motion-of-a-Mass-on-a-Spring.

“Oscillations and Simple Harmonic Motion: Terms and Formulae.” SparkNotes,

www.sparknotes.com/physics/oscillations/oscillationsandsimpleharmonicmotion/terms/.

Accessed 27 Jan. 2022.