Kalvin Foo

Oscillations Lab
Purpose- To determine the spring constant of an oscillating system through its period
Apparatus-

Theory - T=2π(m/k)^(1/2), T^2=4mπ^2/k

- That a spring exhibits simple harmonic motion

Data
Mass T1 T2 T3 Tavg T^2 K
50g .3982 .36 .35 .3694 .1365 14.5
100g .5476 .5168 .54 .5325 .2836 13.9
150g .64 .64 .7 .6733 .4533 13.06
200g .72 .72 .72 .72 .5184 15.23
250g .8 .80 .81 .81 .6448 15.04
Average K= 14.35
Flag Width- 1.55 cm

Graph of T avg
1

0.8 y = 0.1049x + 0.3044

Series1
0.6

0.4 Linear
(Series1)
0.2

0
1 2 3 4 5

Sources of Error- The path followed by the spring system was not perfectly vertical, that the
measured periods were not consistent.

Conclusion- By performing variances of mass, the periods also varied due to their inverse
relationship at a constant spring constant. Thus, using the formula
T=2π(m/k)^(1/2)
the average spring constant was solved to be 14.35.