Activity Overview
In this activity, students will investigate the motion of a mass moving up and down on a spring. They collect data for the position, velocity, and acceleration of the mass's motion and examine the relationship between them.
Before the Activity
Connect the calculator to the CBR 2™
Install the TI Connect™ software to analyze data on the computer
See the attached PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity
Print pages 67 - 72 from the attached PDF file for your class
During the Activity
Distribute the pages to your class.
Follow the Activity procedures:
Run the Ranger program on the calculator
Attach the mass to the spring and place the CBR beneath it
Pull the mass from its resting position so that it oscillates up and down, and begin data collection
Observe the sinusoidal distance-time graph displayed on the calculator screen
Subtract the equilibrium position from the distance list and plot a new distance-time graph
Produce a model that best fits the data
Record the Period of the motion and calculate the number of cycles that the mass moves
Record the horizontal shift of the data and the final equation
After the Activity
Students will complete the Data sheet and answer questions listed in it.
Review student results:
As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
Re-teach concepts as necessary