Design a test that separates the pendulum from the spring
Three steps, the way the exam actually works: work through the lab, write down your own measurements, then answer a 6-point free response. What you recorded goes to the grader with your writing, so a conclusion that does not follow from your own numbers will cost you the point — exactly as it would with a real reader.
Run the investigation
- 1Keep the amplitude small and constant for every trial — you are not testing amplitude here.
- 2With the lab on Earth and the mass at 1.0 kg, record both the pendulum period and the spring period.
- 3Change ONLY the mass to 3.0 kg and record both periods again.
- 4Return the mass to 1.0 kg, switch the lab to the Moon, and record both periods a third time.
- 5Leave the pendulum length and the spring constant untouched throughout, so mass and gravity are the only variables you changed.
Booting the lab…
Record what you measured
These are your numbers, not ours. The grader sees them, so your conclusions have to follow from what you actually recorded.
| Pendulum period · Earth, 1.0 kg | s |
|---|---|
| Spring period · Earth, 1.0 kg | s |
| Pendulum period · Earth, 3.0 kg | s |
| Spring period · Earth, 3.0 kg | s |
| Pendulum period · Moon, 1.0 kg | s |
| Spring period · Moon, 1.0 kg | s |
Answer the free response
Two oscillators run side by side in this simulation: a simple pendulum and a mass on a spring. (a) Using your data, state which oscillator's period changed when you changed the mass and which did not, and justify both results from the governing equations. (b) Using your data, state which oscillator's period changed when you moved to the Moon and which did not, and justify both results. (c) A classmate concludes from part (b) that "a mass on a spring would not oscillate at all in orbit, because there is no gravity to pull it back." Evaluate that claim. (d) The pendulum equation you used is an approximation. State the condition under which it holds, and describe the specific change you would make to this simulation to test whether the approximation breaks down — including what you would expect to observe if it does.
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