The Oscillation Of A Spring.

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The Oscillation Of A Spring

Idea:

My investigation is to find the relationship between the size of one oscillation of a spring, and the length of the spring, which will be determined by various masses being attached to the end of the spring as shown in the diagram below. During the course of the experiment, there will be three controlled variables. These are (a) - the spring size

(b) - the clamp, stand, and vice

(c) - the number of times the spring oscillates

The independent variable in this experiment will be the different masses and my two dependant variables are

(a) – the speed of the oscillation

(b) – the energy of the oscillation

Diagram:

When set up, the apparatus being used should look like this:

Method:

        Set up a clamp and stand and secure the stand with a vice to reduce vibration and movement of the stand. Attach the clamp as low down to the table as possible to ensure that there is less vibration still and suspend the spring over the edge of the table on the ‘mouth’ of the clamp. Attach a mass to the bottom of the spring and measure the displacement. Place a pointer 10cm under the new length of the spring. Pull the spring down to the pointer and time how long it takes for the spring to oscillate ten times. Replace the mass and repeat the experiment. Do this for each mass. Repeat the whole experiment three times for more accurate results and find the mean average for each. During this experiment, I will use three different springs, one for each set of results. They will all be identical, and will be made of the same material, and will be the same length. This is to ensure that the spring does not alter itself from being used in all three experiments, because if it did, the results would change.

Preliminary Work:

        In my preliminary work I tested several things in order to amend and make more accurate the planning I have already done. The first thing I did was a test to see whether the size of a spring affects the way it oscillates. By having three largely different springs and oscillating them, it was clear that the larger and heavier the spring, the slower it oscillated. The size of the oscillations however depended on how far down they were displaced. Next, I did a test to find my spring’s elastic limit. I did this by attaching 100gram weights at a time and recording how much the spring had stretched, if at all. I found that the elastic limit of my spring was 1200grams. Thirdly, I put different masses on the spring to see if it had an effect on the speed and/or size of the oscillations, and my recordings showed that the heavier the mass, the slower it oscillated. Lastly, I tested to see if the oscillations varied if they were started off from being displaced only a small distance, or a larger distance, and the results showed that the less it was pulled down, the more straight the oscillations were, and that the larger the displacement, the more unsteady it became, and started wobbling.

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Theory:

Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM) is the regular movement of an object about a central point. The acceleration is always in the direction towards the central point. If the displacement of the object from the central point is X then the acceleration to the centre is proportional to X.

So, using this diagram, my theory goes as follows:

When the weight is below the EP, Hooke’s Law provides a force pulling upwards equal to KX. When the weight is above the EP the balance of the Gravitational Force (from Hooke’s Law) equals a force KX pulling down towards the EP.

So the force pulling ...

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