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Bell Ringer: The Spring-Mass System – ID:
Time required
13622 15 minutes
Topic: Oscillations and Waves
• Explore the motion of a mass oscillating on a spring.
• Determine the relationships between the force, displacement, and spring constant of a
spring-mass system.
Activity Overview
In this activity, students will observe a simulation of an object oscillating on a spring. Then,
students will plot the force of the spring as a function of the displacement to determine the
spring constant of the spring.
Materials
To complete this activity, each student will require the following:
• TI-Nspire™ technology
• pen or pencil
• blank sheet of paper
TI-Nspire Applications
Data & Statistics, Notes, Graphs & Geometry, Lists & Spreadsheet
Teacher Preparation
Before carrying out this activity, review with students Hooke’s law and the properties of systems
in simple harmonic motion.
• The screenshots on pages 2–4 demonstrate expected student results. Refer to the
screenshots on page 5 for a preview of the student TI-Nspire document (.tns file). The
solution .tns file contains sample responses to the questions posed in the student .tns file.
• To download the student .tns file and solution .tns file, go to
education.ti.com/exchange and enter “13622” in the search box.
• This activity is related to activity 10541: Up and Down: Vertical Oscillations. If you wish,
you may extend this bell-ringer activity with the longer activity. You can download the files
for activity 10541 at education.ti.com/exchange.
Classroom Management
• This activity is designed to be teacher-led, with students following along on their
handhelds. You may use the following pages to present the material to the class and
encourage discussion. Note that the majority of the ideas and concepts are presented
only in this document, so you should make sure to cover all the material necessary for
students to comprehend the concepts.
• If you wish, you may modify this document for use as a student instruction sheet. You
may also wish to use an overhead projector and TI-Nspire computer software to
demonstrate the use of the TI-Nspire to students.
• If students do not have sufficient time to complete the main questions, they may also be
completed as homework.
• In some cases, these instructions are specific to those students using TI-Nspire handheld
devices, but the activity can easily be done using TI-Nspire computer software.
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The following questions will guide student exploration during this activity:
• What is simple harmonic motion?
• What is Hooke’s law?
In this activity, students will observe how the spring force on an object is related to the
displacement of the object in a spring-mass system. Then, students will plot the force versus
displacement of the spring-mass system to determine the spring constant of the spring.
Step 1: Students should open the file
PhysBR_week22_springmass.tns and read the first
two pages. Page 1.3 shows a simulation of a box
attached to a light spring on a horizontal surface. The
spring-mass system oscillates about an equilibrium
point. The force of the spring on the box is given by F.
The displacement of the box from equilibrium is given
by x. Students can vary the displacement of the box by
moving the slider from –6.5 to 6.5 m. (To use the slider,
students should use the NavPad to move the cursor to
the slider value located below the variable. They can
press x to select the slider, and then use the NavPad
to drag it to change the values. Alternatively, students
can use the NavPad to scroll over the text value of the
variable. Students should press x and then type a
new value.) Students should observe how the force on
the box changes as the displacement changes. Then,
they should answer question 1.
Q1. What do you notice about the sign of the
displacement of the object and the sign of the
force on the object? Why do you think this is the
case?
A. The sign of the displacement is opposite the sign
of the force on the object, which is the case for
all objects in simple harmonic motion. This is
because the spring exerts a restorative force on
the object that points in the direction of the
equilibrium point. When the object is displaced
from equilibrium, the spring exerts a force on the
object that opposes this motion.
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Step 2: Next, students should read page 1.5 and then
move back to page 1.3 to capture data points from the
spring-mass simulation. Students should press /^
to capture a single data point. Students can vary the
slider value and then repeat this process until
numerous data points have been collected. These data
are automatically added to the spreadsheet on page
1.6.
Step 3: Students should read page 1.7 and then
move to the Data & Statistics page on 1.8. Students
should select the appropriate series from the x and y
axes to plot a graph of the force of the spring versus
the displacement of the object. (To make the plot, they
should use the NavPad to move the cursor to the x-
axis. They should click once. A list of possible variables
should pop up. They should use the NavPad to select
displacement and then click once. They should then
move the cursor to the y-axis, click, and choose force
from the menu. Once both variables have been
selected, the graph should appear.)
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Step 4: Next, students should fit a line to the data
using the Movable Line tool (Menu > Analyze > Add
Movable Line). To adjust the movable line, students
should use the NavPad to move the cursor to a location
on the movable line. The cursor will turn into either a
four-corner arrow or a circular arrow. To grab the line,
students should press and hold x until the cursor
changes to a closed hand. They can then use the
NavPad to drag the line. They can press d to release
the line. To change the angle of the line, they should
grab the line from a point at which the circular arrow is
visible. To change the position of the line, they should
grab the line from a point at which the four-corner
arrow is visible. The equation for the line will be
displayed on the screen. Once students have plotted
the line, they should answer questions 2–4.
Q2. Write Hooke’s law and define each of the variables in the equation.
A. Hooke’s law is F = −kx, where F is the force of the spring on the mass, k is the spring
constant of the spring, and x is the displacement of the object from equilibrium.
Q3. What is the slope of the force versus displacement graph on page 1.7? How does this
slope relate to the spring constant?
F
A. The slope of the force versus displacement graph gives the ratio . Based on Hooke’s
x
law, this value is equal to −k, which is the negative of the value of the spring constant.
Q4. What is the spring constant of the spring on page 1.2?
A. The slope of the force versus displacement graph is −50. Because this is equal to −k, the
value of the spring constant is 50 N/m.
Q5. According to Hooke’s law, what should the y-intercept of the line be?
A. The y-intercept should be equal to zero. It is unlikely that students’ movable lines will
have a zero intercept. Discuss the likely reasons for this. If you wish, have students plot
a linear regression (Menu > Analyze > Regression > Show Linear (mx + b)) through
the points. This line should have a similar slope to the movable line, but should also
have a y-intercept of zero. Discuss with students the relative accuracy of each line.
Suggestions for Extension Activities: Have students determine the period, frequency, and
angular frequency of the box if it has a mass of 5 kg.
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Bell Ringer: The Spring-Mass System – ID: 13622
(Student)TI-Nspire File: PhysBR_week22_springmass.tns
©2011 Texas Instruments Incorporated Page 5
