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MotionofaMassonaSpring
VibrationalMotion
PropertiesofPeriodicMotion
PendulumMotion
MotionofaMassonaSpring

Inapreviouspartofthislesson,themotionofamassattachedtoaspringwasdescribedasan
exampleofavibratingsystem.Themassonaspringmotionwasdiscussedinmoredetailaswesought
tounderstandthemathematicalpropertiesofobjectsthatareinperiodicmotion.Nowwewill
investigatethemotionofamassonaspringinevengreaterdetailaswefocusonhowavarietyof
quantitieschangeoverthecourseoftime.Suchquantitieswillincludeforces,position,velocity
andenergybothkineticandpotentialenergy.

Hooke'sLaw
Wewillbeginourdiscussionwithaninvestigationoftheforcesexertedbyaspring
onahangingmass.Considerthesystemshownattherightwithaspringattached
toasupport.Thespringhangsinarelaxed,unstretchedposition.Ifyouwereto
holdthebottomofthespringandpulldownward,thespringwouldstretch.Ifyou
weretopullwithjustalittleforce,thespringwouldstretchjustalittlebit.Andif
youweretopullwithamuchgreaterforce,thespringwouldstretchamuch
greaterextent.Exactlywhatisthequantitativerelationshipbetweentheamountof
pullingforceandtheamountofstretch?
Todeterminethisquantitativerelationshipbetweentheamountofforceandthe
amountofstretch,objectsofknownmasscouldbeattachedtothespring.Foreachobjectwhichis
added,theamountofstretchcouldbemeasured.Theforcewhichisappliedineachinstancewouldbe
theweightoftheobject.Aregressionanalysisoftheforcestretchdatacouldbeperformedinorderto
determinethequantitativerelationshipbetweentheforceandtheamountofstretch.Thedatatable
belowshowssomerepresentativedataforsuchanexperiment.
Mass(kg) ForceonSpring(N) AmountofStretch(m)
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

Byplottingtheforcestretchdataandperformingalinearregressionanalysis,thequantitative
relationshiporequationcanbedetermined.Theplotisshownbelow.

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Alinearregressionanalysisyieldsthefollowingstatistics:

slope=0.00406m/N
yintercept=3.43x105( pert
nearcloseto0.000)
regressionconstant=0.999

Theequationforthislineis
Stretch=0.00406Force+3.43x105
Thefactthattheregressionconstantisverycloseto1.000indicatesthatthereis
a strongfit
betweentheequationandthedatapoints.This strongfit
lendscredibilityto
theresultsoftheexperiment.
Thisrelationshipbetweentheforceappliedtoaspringandtheamountofstretchwas
firstdiscoveredin1678byEnglishscientistRobertHooke.AsHookeputit: Uttensio,sicvis
.Translated
fromLatin,thismeans"Astheextension,sotheforce."Inotherwords,theamountthatthespring
extendsisproportionaltotheamountofforcewithwhichitpulls.Ifwehadcompletedthisstudyabout
350yearsago(andifweknewsomeLatin),wewouldbefamous!Todaythisquantitativerelationship
betweenforceandstretchisreferredtoasHooke'slawandisoftenreportedintextbooksas
Fspring=kx
whereFspringistheforceexerteduponthespring,xistheamountthatthespringstretchesrelativeto
itsrelaxedposition,andkistheproportionalityconstant,oftenreferredtoasthespringconstant.The
springconstantisapositiveconstantwhosevalueisdependentuponthespringwhichisbeingstudied.
Astiffspringwouldhaveahighspringconstant.Thisistosaythatitwouldtakearelativelylarge
amountofforcetocausealittledisplacement.TheunitsonthespringconstantareNewton/meter
(N/m).Thenegativesignintheaboveequationisanindicationthatthedirectionthatthespring
stretchesisoppositethedirectionoftheforcewhichthespringexerts.Forinstance,whenthespring
wasstretchedbelowitsrelaxedposition,xis downward
.Thespringrespondstothisstretchingby
exertingan upward
force.ThexandtheFareinoppositedirections.Afinalcommentregardingthis
equationisthatitworksforaspringwhichisstretchedverticallyandforaspringisstretched
horizontally(suchastheonetobediscussedbelow).

ForceAnalysisofaMassonaSpring
Earlierinthislessonwelearnedthatanobjectthatisvibratingisacteduponbyarestoringforce.
Therestoringforcecausesthevibratingobjecttoslowdownasitmovesawayfrom
theequilibriumpositionandtospeedupasitapproachestheequilibriumposition.Itisthisrestoring
forcewhichisresponsibleforthevibration.Sowhatistherestoringforceforamassonaspring?
Wewillbeginourdiscussionofthisquestionbyconsideringthesysteminthediagrambelow.
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Thediagramshowsanairtrackandaglider.Thegliderisattachedbyaspringtoaverticalsupport.
Thereisanegligibleamountoffrictionbetweenthegliderandtheairtrack.Assuch,therearethree
dominantforcesactingupontheglider.Thesethreeforcesareshowninthefreebodydiagramatthe
right.Theforceofgravity(Fgrav)isaratherpredictableforcebothintermsofitsmagnitudeandits
direction.Theforceofgravityalwaysactsdownwarditsmagnitudecanbefound
astheproductofmassandtheaccelerationofgravity(m9.8N/kg).The
supportforce(Fsupport)balancestheforceofgravity.Itissuppliedbytheair
fromtheairtrack,causingthegliderto levitate
aboutthetrack'ssurface.Thefinal
forceisthespringforce(Fspring).Asdiscussedabove,thespringforcevariesin
magnitudeandindirection.ItsmagnitudecanbefoundusingHooke'slaw.Its
directionisalwaysoppositethedirectionofstretchandtowards
theequilibriumposition.Astheairtrackgliderdoes thebackandforth
,thespring
force(Fspring)actsastherestoringforce.Itactsleftwardonthegliderwhenitispositionedtothe
rightoftheequilibriumpositionanditactsrightwardonthegliderwhenitispositionedtotheleftof
theequilibriumposition.
Let'ssupposethatthegliderispulledtotherightoftheequilibriumpositionandreleasedfromrest.The
diagrambelowshowsthedirectionofthespringforceatfivedifferentpositionsoverthecourseofthe
glider'spath.AstheglidermovesfrompositionA(thereleasepoint)topositionBandthentoposition
C,thespringforceactsleftwardupontheleftwardmovingglider.AsthegliderapproachespositionC,
theamountofstretchofthespringdecreasesandthespringforcedecreases,consistentwithHooke's
Law.Despitethisdecreaseinthespringforce,thereisstillanaccelerationcausedbytherestoring
forcefortheentirespanfrompositionAtopositionC.AtpositionC,thegliderhasreacheditsmaximum
speed.OncethegliderpassestotheleftofpositionC,thespringforceactsrightward.Duringthisphase
oftheglider'scycle,thespringisbeingcompressed.ThefurtherpastpositionCthattheglidermoves,
thegreatertheamountofcompressionandthegreaterthespringforce.Thisspringforceactsas
arestoringforce,slowingthegliderdownasitmovesfrompositionCtopositionDtopositionE.Bythe
timethegliderhasreachedpositionE,ithassloweddowntoamomentaryrestpositionbefore
changingitsdirectionandheadingbacktowardstheequilibriumposition.Duringtheglider'smotion
frompositionEtopositionC,theamountthatthespringiscompresseddecreasesandthespringforce
decreases.ThereisstillanaccelerationfortheentiredistancefrompositionEtopositionC.Atposition
C,thegliderhasreacheditsmaximumspeed.NowthegliderbeginstomovetotherightofpointC.As
itdoes,thespringforceactsleftwardupontherightwardmovingglider.Thisrestoringforcecausesthe
glidertoslowdownduringtheentirepathfrompositionCtopositionDtopositionE.

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SinusoidalNatureoftheMotionofaMassonaSpring
Previouslyinthislesson,thevariationsinthepositionofamassonaspringwithrespecttotimewere
discussed.Atthattime,itwasshownthatthepositionofamassonaspringvarieswiththesineofthe
time.Thediscussionpertainedtoamassthatwasvibratingupanddownwhilesuspendedfromthe
spring.Thediscussionwouldbejustasapplicabletoourglidermovingalongtheairtrack.Ifamotion
detectorwereplacedattherightendoftheairtracktocollectdataforapositionvs.timeplot,theplot
wouldlookliketheplotbelow.PositionAistherightmostpositionontheairtrackwhentheglideris
closesttothedetector.

Thelabeledpositionsinthediagramabovearethesamepositionsusedinthediscussionofrestoring
forceabove.YoumightrecallfromthatdiscussionthatpositionsAandEwerepositionsatwhichthe
masshadazerovelocity.PositionCwastheequilibriumpositionandwasthepositionofmaximum
speed.Ifthesamemotiondetectorthatcollectedpositiontimedatawereusedtocollectvelocitytime
data,thentheplotteddatawouldlooklikethegraphbelow.

Observethatthevelocitytimeplotforthemassonaspringisalsoasinusoidalshapedplot.Theonly
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vibrationalcycleawayfromtheother.Alsoobserveintheplotsthattheabsolutevalueofthevelocityis
greatestatpositionC(correspondingtotheequilibriumposition).Thevelocityofanymovingobject,
whethervibratingornot,isthespeedwithadirection.Themagnitudeofthevelocityisthespeed.The
directionisoftenexpressedasapositiveoranegativesign.Insomeinstances,thevelocityhasa
negativedirection(thegliderismovingleftward)anditsvelocityisplottedbelowthetimeaxis.Inother
cases,thevelocityhasapositivedirection(thegliderismovingrightward)anditsvelocityisplotted
abovethetimeaxis.Youwillalsonoticethatthevelocityiszerowheneverthepositionisatanextreme.
ThisoccursatpositionsAandEwhenthegliderisbeginningtochangedirection.Sojustasinthecase
ofpendulummotion,thespeedisgreatestwhenthedisplacementofthemassrelativeto
itsequilibriumpositionistheleast.Andthespeedisleastwhenthedisplacementofthemassrelativeto
itsequilibriumpositionisthegreatest.

EnergyAnalysisofaMassonaSpring
Onthepreviouspage,anenergyanalysisforthevibrationofapendulumwasdiscussed.Herewewill
conductasimilaranalysisforthemotionofamassonaspring.Inourdiscussion,wewillrefertothe
motionofthefrictionlessgliderontheairtrackthatwasintroducedabove.Thegliderwillbepulledto
therightofitsequilibriumpositionandbereleasedfromrest(positionA).Asmentioned,thegliderthen
acceleratestowardspositionC(theequilibriumposition).Oncethegliderpasses
theequilibriumposition,itbeginstoslowdownasthespringforcepullsitbackwardsagainstitsmotion.
BythetimeithasreachedpositionE,thegliderhassloweddowntoamomentarypausebefore
changingdirectionsandacceleratingbacktowardspositionC.Onceagain,afterthegliderpasses
positionC,itbeginstoslowdownasitapproachespositionA.OnceatpositionA,thecyclebeginsall
overagain...andagain...andagain.
Thekineticenergypossessedbyanobjectistheenergyitpossessesduetoitsmotion.Itisaquantity
thatdependsuponbothmassandspeed.Theequationthatrelateskineticenergy(KE)tomass(m)
andspeed(v)is
KE=mv2
Thefasteranobjectmoves,themorekineticenergythatitwillpossess.Wecancombinethisconcept
withthediscussionaboveabouthowspeedchangesduringthecourseofmotion.Thisblendingofthe
conceptswouldleadustoconcludethatthekineticenergyofthemassonthespringincreasesasit
approachestheequilibriumpositionanditdecreasesasitmovesawayfromtheequilibriumposition.
Thisinformationissummarizedinthetablebelow:
Stageof Changein ChangeinKinetic
Cycle Speed Energy
AtoBtoC Increasing Increasing
CtoDtoE Decreasing Decreasing
EtoDtoC Increasing Increasing
CtoBtoA Decreasing Decreasing
Kineticenergyisonlyoneformofmechanicalenergy.Theotherformispotentialenergy.Potential
energyisthestoredenergyofpositionpossessedbyanobject.Thepotentialenergycouldbe
gravitationalpotentialenergy,inwhichcasethepositionreferstotheheightabovetheground.Or
thepotentialenergycouldbeelasticpotentialenergy,inwhichcasethepositionreferstothe
positionofthemassonthespringrelativetotheequilibriumposition.Forourvibratingairtrackglider,
thereisnochangeinheight.Sothegravitationalpotentialenergydoesnotchange.Thisform
ofpotentialenergyisnotofmuchinterestinouranalysisoftheenergychanges.Thereishowevera
changeinthepositionofthemassrelativetoitsequilibriumposition.Everytimethespringis
compressedorstretchedrelativetoitsrelaxedposition,thereisanincreaseintheelasticpotential
energy.Theamountofelasticpotentialenergydependsontheamountofstretchorcompressionofthe
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spring.Theequationthatrelatestheamountofelasticpotentialenergy(PEspring)totheamountof
compressionorstretch(x)is
PEspring=kx2
wherekisthespringconstant(inN/m)andxisthedistancethatthespringisstretchedorcompressed
relativetotherelaxed,unstretchedposition.
Whentheairtrackgliderisatitsequilibriumposition(positionC),itismovingit'sfastest(asdiscussed
above).Atthisposition,thevalueofxis0meter.Sotheamountofelasticpotentialenergy(PEspring)
is0Joules.Thisisthepositionwherethepotentialenergyistheleast.WhenthegliderisatpositionA,
thespringisstretchedthegreatestdistanceandtheelasticpotentialenergyisamaximum.Asimilar
statementcanbemadeforpositionE.AtpositionE,thespringiscompressedthemostandtheelastic
potentialenergyatthislocationisalsoamaximum.Sincethespringstretchesasmuchascompresses,
theelasticpotentialenergyatpositionA(the stretched
position)isthesameasatpositionE
(the compressed
position).AtthesetwopositionsAandEthevelocityis0m/sandthekinetic
energyis0J.Sojustlikethecaseofavibratingpendulum,avibratingmassonaspringhasthe
greatestpotentialenergywhenithasthesmallestkineticenergy.Anditalsohasthesmallestpotential
energy(positionC)whenithasthegreatestkineticenergy.Theseprinciplesareshownintheanimation
below.

Whenconductinganenergyanalysis,acommonrepresentationisanenergybarchart.Anenergybar
chartusesabargraphtorepresenttherelativeamountandformofenergypossessedbyanobjectasit
ismoving.Itisausefulconceptualtoolforshowingwhatformofenergyispresentandhowitchanges
overthecourseoftime.Thediagrambelowisanenergybarchartfortheairtrackgliderandspring
system.

ThebarchartrevealsthatasthemassonthespringmovesfromAtoBtoC,thekinetic
energyincreasesandtheelasticpotentialenergydecreases.Yetthetotalamountofthesetwoformsof
mechanicalenergyremainsconstant.Mechanicalenergyisbeingtransformedfrompotentialformto
kineticformyetthetotalamountisbeing conserved
.Asimilarconservationofenergyphenomenon
occursasthemassmovesfromCtoDtoE.Asthespringbecomescompressedandthemassslows
down,itskineticenergyistransformedintoelasticpotentialenergy.Asthistransformationoccurs,the
totalamountofmechanicalenergyisconserved.Thisveryprincipleofenergyconservationwas
explainedinapreviouschaptertheEnergychapterofThePhysicsClassroomTutorial.

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PeriodofaMassonaSpring
Asislikelyobvious,notallspringsarecreatedequal.Andnotallspringmasssystemsarecreatedequal.
Onemeasurablequantitythatcanbeusedtodistinguishonespringmasssystemfromanotheris
theperiod.Asdiscussedearlierinthislesson,theperiodisthetimeforavibratingobjecttomakeone
completecycleofvibration.Thevariablesthateffecttheperiodofaspringmasssystemarethemass
andthespringconstant.Theequationthatrelatesthesevariablesresemblestheequationfortheperiod
ofapendulum.Theequationis
T=2(m/k).5
whereTistheperiod,misthemassoftheobjectattachedtothespring,andkisthespringconstant
ofthespring.Theequationcanbeinterpretedtomeanthatmoremassiveobjectswillvibratewitha
longerperiod.Theirgreaterinertiameansthatittakesmoretimetocompleteacycle.Andspringswith
agreaterspringconstant(stiffersprings)haveasmallerperiodmassesattachedtothesespringstake
lesstimetocompleteacycle.Theirgreaterspringconstantmeanstheyexertstrongerrestoringforces
upontheattachedmass.Thisgreaterforcereducesthelengthoftimetocompleteonecycleof
vibration.

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