Question

A horizontal spring mass system is to be constructed. A spring which has a spring constant of 3 kg/s2 will be used. The system should be designed so that when it is released and vibrating freely (there is no forcing) the amplitude of its vibrations will decay like ?−0.4t, and it should oscillate with a period of 4 seconds.

(Although the motion is oscillatory it is not strictly periodic because the amplitude decays exponentially. In this context "period" refers to the period of the sine and/or cosine functions that create the oscillations in the motion.)

Based on these constraints determine the mass of the object, ?(kg), to be used, and also determine the value of the friction coefficient, ? (kg/s).

?: kg

b: kg/s

Answer 1