Question

Two ingenious 120 student students decide to use an oscillating mass on a spring to check the shutter (exposure) time of their camera. They set up vertically alongside the mass and spring. A pointer attached to the mass allows the scale on the meter stick to be read as illustrated in the diagram. The spring has a constant of k=4.934 N/m, and the mass is m=0.5000 kg. In equilibrium, the pointer is at the 50.0cm mark of the meter stick. When the mass is oscillating, the pointer movies such that at its extreme positions it falls exactly on the 30.0cm and 70.0cm scale marks.

(I) What is the period of the of the oscillations of the mass?

(II) What is the amplitude of the oscillation?

Answer 1

(i) Period = 2pi sqrt (m/k)
= 2pi sqrt (0.5000/4.934)
= 2pi x 0.3183
= 2.000 second
(ii) Amplitude = 70 - 50 = 50 - 30 = 20 cm