CHAPTER 1

In the Pendulum simulation, what variable

affects the period of the swinging

pendulums?

REFERENCE:

Article title: The Simple Pendulum | Physics

Website title: Courses.lumenlearning.com

URL: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/physics/chapter/16-4-the-

simple-pendulum/
In Figure 1 we see that a simple pendulum has a small-diameter bob and

a string that has a very small mass but is strong enough not to

stretch appreciably. The linear displacement from equilibrium is s,

the length of the arc. Also shown are the forces on the bob, which

result in a net force of −mg sinθ toward the equilibrium position—that

is, a restoring force.

Pendulums are in common usage. Some have crucial uses, such as in

there, such as the sinker on a fishing line. For small displacements,

a pendulum is a simple harmonic oscillator. A simple pendulum is

defined to have an object that has a small mass, also known as the

pendulum bob, which is suspended from a light wire or string, such as

shown in Figure 1. Exploring the simple pendulum a bit further, we can

discover the conditions under which it performs simple harmonic

motion, and we can derive an interesting expression for its period.

from Figure 1 that the net force on the bob is tangent to the arc and

equals −mg sinθ. (The weight mg has components mg cosθ along the

string and mg sinθ tangent to the arc.) Tension in the string exactly

cancels the component mg cosθ parallel to the string. This leaves

a net restoring force back toward the equilibrium position at θ = 0.

Now, if we can show that the restoring force is directly proportional

to the displacement, then we have a simple harmonic oscillator. In

trying to determine if we have a simple harmonic oscillator, we should

note that for small angles (less than about 15º),

sinθ ≈ θ (sinθ and θ differ by about 1% or less at smaller angles).

Thus, for angles less than about 15º, the restoring force F is

F ≈ −mgθ.

The displacement s is directly proportional to θ. When θ is expressed

in radians, the arc length in a circle is related to its radius (L in

this instance) by s = Lθ, so that

θ=sLθ=sL.

For small angles, then, the expression for the restoring force is:

F≈−mgLsF≈−mgLs.

This expression is of the form: F = −kx, where the force constant is

given by k=mgLk=mgL and the displacement is given by x = s. For angles

less than about 15º, the restoring force is directly proportional to

the displacement, and the simple pendulum is a simple harmonic

oscillator.
Using this equation, we can find the period of a pendulum for

amplitudes less than about 15º. For the simple pendulum:

T=2π√mk=2π√mmgLT=2πmk=2πmmgL

Thus, T=2π√LgT=2πLg for the period of a simple pendulum. This result

is interesting because of its simplicity. The only things that affect

the period of a simple pendulum are its length and the acceleration

due to gravity. The period is completely independent of other factors,

such as mass. As with simple harmonic oscillators, the period T for a

pendulum is nearly independent of amplitude, especially if θ is less

than about 15º. Even simple pendulum clocks can be finely adjusted and

accurate.

CHAPTER 2
 In the Spring Harmonic simulation, what are

the variables that affect the rate at

which the spring moves?

REFERENCE:

Article title: Physics Tutorial: Motion of a Mass on a Spring

Website title: Physicsclassroom.com

URL: https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/Lesson-

0/Motion-of-a-Mass-on-a-Spring

Hooke's Law

We will begin our discussion with an investigation of the forces

exerted by a spring on a hanging mass. Consider the system shown at

the right with a spring attached to a support. The spring hangs in a

relaxed, unstretched position. If you were to hold the bottom of the

spring and pull downward, the spring would stretch. If you were to

pull with just a little force, the spring would stretch just a little

bit. And if you were to pull with a much greater force, the spring

would stretch a much greater extent. Exactly what is the quantitative

relationship between the amount of pulling force and the amount of

stretch?

To determine this quantitative relationship between the amount of

force and the amount of stretch, objects of known mass could be

stretch could be measured. The force which is applied in each instance

would be the weight of the object. A regression analysis of the force-

stretch data could be performed in order to determine the quantitative

relationship between the force and the amount of stretch. The data

table below shows some representative data for such an experiment.

Mass
Force on Spring (N) Amount of Stretch (m)
(kg)
0.000 0.000 0.0000
0.050 0.490 0.0021
0.100 0.980 0.0040
0.150 1.470 0.0063
0.200 1.960 0.0081
0.250 2.450 0.0099
0.300 2.940 0.0123
0.400 3.920 0.0160
0.500 4.900 0.0199
 

By plotting the force-stretch data and performing a linear regression

analysis, the quantitative relationship or equation can be determined.

The plot is shown below.

A linear regression analysis yields the following statistics:

y-intercept = 3.43 x10-5 (pert near close to 0.000)

regression constant = 0.999

The equation for this line is

Stretch = 0.00406•Force + 3.43x10-5

The fact that the regression constant is very close to

1.000 indicates that there is a strong fit between the

equation and the data points. This strong fit lends

credibility to the results of the experiment.

This relationship between the force applied to a spring and the amount

of stretch was first discovered in 1678 by English scientist Robert

Hooke. As Hooke put it: Ut tensio, sic vis. Translated from Latin,

this means "As the extension, so the force." In other words, the

amount that the spring extends is proportional to the amount of force

with which it pulls. If we had completed this study about 350 years

ago (and if we knew some Latin), we would be famous! Today this

quantitative relationship between force and stretch is referred to as

Hooke's law and is often reported in textbooks as

Fspring = -k•x

where Fspring is the force exerted upon the spring, x is the amount

that the spring stretches relative to its relaxed position, and k is

the proportionality constant, often referred to as the spring

constant. The spring constant is a positive constant whose value is

dependent upon the spring which is being studied. A stiff spring would
have a high spring constant. This is to say that it would take a

relatively large amount of force to cause a little displacement. The

units on the spring constant are Newton/meter (N/m). The negative sign

in the above equation is an indication that the direction that the

spring stretches is opposite the direction of the force which the

spring exerts. For instance, when the spring was stretched below its

relaxed position, x is downward. The spring responds to this

stretching by exerting an upward force. The x and the F are in

opposite directions. A final comment regarding this equation is that

it works for a spring which is stretched vertically and for a spring

is stretched horizontally

CHAPTER 3
What happens if you increased the spring constant of the spring whose
weight equals to 100 g?
 Answer:

Restoring force increases

Explanation:

this is because f= -kx where k is spring constant