Question

A 210 g mass attached to a horizontal spring oscillates at a frequency of 3.40 Hz. At t = 0 s, the mass is at x = 5.60 cm and has vx = -31.0 cm/s. Include all units with answers.

a) Determine the period.

Answer 1

The period of a mass oscillating on a horizontal spring with a frequency of 3.40 Hz is calculated as the reciprocal of the frequency and is approximately 0.2941 seconds.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the period of an oscillating mass attached to a spring with a given frequency, we can use the relationship between period (T) and frequency (f), which is T = 1/f. The student has provided that the frequency of oscillation is 3.40 Hz. Therefore, the period T is the reciprocal of the frequency.

Performing the calculation:

• T = 1/f
• T = 1/3.40 Hz
• T = 0.2941 seconds (rounded to four decimal places)

The period of the mass-spring system is approximately 0.2941 seconds.