You will be given a spring and one or more masses with which to study the motion of a mass hanging from a spring (Figure
4.56).
(a) Measure the value of the spring stiffness of the spring inN/m. The magnitude of a spring force is , where s is
the stretch of the spring (change from the unstretched length). Explain briefly how you measured . Include in your
report the unstretched length of the spring.
(b) Measure the period (the round-trip time) of a mass hanging from the vertical spring. Report the mass that you use,
and the amplitude of the oscillation. Amplitude is the maximum displacement, plus or minus, from the equilibrium
position (the position where the mass can hang motionless).
(c) With twice the amplitude that you reported in part (b), measure the period again. Since the mass has to move twice as
far, one might expect the period to lengthen. Does it?
is moving fast past some marker near the equilibrium point, because it is difficult to estimate the exact time when the mass
reaches the very top or the very bottom, because it is moving slowly at those turnaround points. Be sure to measure full
round-trip cycles, not the half-cycles between returns to the equilibrium point (but going in the opposite direction).