DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED PHYSICS

EXPERIMENT A6
TOPIC: SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION VIBRATING
SPRING
Lab Instructor: MISS BANTA
NAME: RICHARD PAUL
ID#: 23401536
FIRST YEAR’S PHYSICS (PH111)
Due Date: 01/05/2023

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Heading/Title:

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION OF A VIBRATING SPRING

Introduction

Vibration and vibration isolation are both intimately connected with the
phenomenon of resonance and simple harmonic motion. One system that
manifests simple harmonic motion is a mass, m, attached to a spring of spring
constant, k. Suppose such a system resides on a horizontal table to

Theory

When a force is applied to a spring it will extend by a length, y. The relationship

between the force, F, on the spring and the extensions, y, is given by Hook’s Law.

F = k.y (1)

The constant (k) is the force constant, spring constant or stiffness factor in
units of Newton per meter.

When a body of mass M on the end of a spring is

set into oscillation, the period T is given by:

T = 2π
√ M
k
(2)

If the mass of the spring is neglected. When the

mass, m, of the spring, is taken into account, the
expression for the period, T becomes:

√
m
M+
T = 2π 3 (3)
k

It will be seen that for this experiment, it is

better to take the mass of the spring into
account, as we are dealing with a heavy spring.

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Aim
(a) To investigate how the period of vertical oscillations of a spiral spring varies
w with the mass suspended at the end of the spring.
(b) To determine the spring constant and the mass of the spring.

Apparatus/Instruments
 Spiral spring
 Set of slotted masses
 2 Retort stands
 Balance
 Ruler (15 cm)
 Stopwatch
 Bossheads and Clamps

Diagrams:

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 Procedure:
1. Add a load of about 50 g to the spring. By pulling down the load slightly,
set the system into small vertical oscillations. Find the mean period of
oscillations by taking four (4) readings of the time for 20 oscillations.

2. Increase the masses in steps of 20 g, and determine for each mass the
corresponding period of oscillation. Use at least 4 different masses.

Results:
Table 1.
Mass Time for 20 oscillations, 20T Mean Mean T2 (s2) Extension
m, (s) 20T (s) Period, T (y)
(kg) (s) In cm
1 2 3 4

0.02 13.53 12.97 12.96 13 13.115 0.65575 0.430008062 4

0.04 15.69 15.59 15.65 15.47 15.6 0.78 0.6084 8

0.06 17.81 16.87 17.16 17.07 17.2275 0.861375 0.74196689 12

0.08 18.93 18.97 19.03 19.43 19.09 0.9545 0.91107025 16

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Calculation/Analysis:
The mean of the 20 oscillations for each of the masses is given by adding all the
results from the 4 sets of trials being done for that particular mass and diving by
4.
►Eg. For the 0.02 kg (20 g) object
= Average
13.53+ 12.97+12.96+13
= = 13.115 s
4

The mean period is calculated by dividing the average by 20.

Average
=
20
13.115
=
20
= 0.65575 s
T2 is calculated by squaring the result of the average divided by 20.
T2 = (0.65575 s)2
= 0.430008062 s2

Extension calculation:
Initial = 1.5 cm
Therefore,
Extension = Measured Value – Initial Value
= 5.5 – 1.5 = 4 cm
= 9.5 – 1.5 = 8 cm
= 13.5 – 1.5 = 12 cm
= 17.5 – 1.5 = 16 cm

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Graph:

T2 against M
1

0.9

0.8
Squared of time period, T2 (s2)

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09
Mass, m (kg)

Y-Values Linear (Y-Values)

Finding slope (s) = m Point of intersection: (0.06, 0.74196689)

y 2− y 1 Δ y
∴m= =
x 2−x 1 Δx
2 2
0.6084 s −0.430008062 s
∴m=
0.04 kg−0.02 kg
∴ m = 8.9195969 s2/kg
Finding spring constant (k):

4 π2
∴k=
m

4π2
∴k=
8.9195969 kg/ s2
∴ k = 4.426031585 s2/kg

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Conclusions:
In this lab, I learned how we could find the spring constant of a spring from:
1. Hanging a mass and measuring the displacement of the spring and
2. Having a mass oscillate on the spring.
One factor that could have caused a difference in my values for k is that the
oscillating mass could have lost some potential energy causing the spring to
oscillate slower. We can further study spring constants by studying a spring that
compresses and finding its constant.

Answers to Questions
Q. State under which conditions the vibratory motion of the spring will be
considered simple harmonic. Discuss whether these conditions were satisfied in
this experiment.
Ans. With no drag forces or friction, the restoring force must be proportional to
the displacement and act in the opposite direction of motion. In the experiment
these conditions were satisfied since there was no drag forces or friction being
used and so the restoring force was proportional to displacement and it acted in
the opposite direction to the motion.

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References:
First Year’s Physics Laboratory Manual (pg. 52-54)
Google: https://www.unf.edu/~jgarner/shm.html
Google: http://physics4abalewis.blogspot.com.html

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