Darshan Patel

Professor: Linghua Zhu

Group Members: Sean, Jai, Nikki
Physics Lab 125: Conservation of Energy in Spring-Mass System
Lab Date: 10/22/15
I. Objective
1. To verify the conservation of mechanical energy in an oscillating springmass system.
II. Theoretical Background
When a body of mass m is suspended on a coil spring with spring constant
k, and if the spring is stretched or compressed from its equilibrium position
through a displacement s, the spring exerts on a body a force proportional
to displacement and given by Hookes law:
1) F = -ks, of which magnitude is F = ks
F is a restoring force. The negative sign indicates that the force direction is
opposite to the direction of the displacement. If the spring is hung vertically,
when the body is stationary, according to Newtons First law we know that
2) F = mg
Combine the first two equations :
3) Mg = ks
Use the above equation to determine spring constant and the following
equations to find the total mechanical energy.
4) Emech = mv2 + k(xo-x)2 + mgx
5) Emech = mv2 +1/2 k(mg/k x)2 + mgx
6) Emech = mv2 + kx2 + (mg)2/2k
7) Emech = mv2 + k(h-ho)2 + (mg)2/2k
III. Results: Data sheet
k = 25.024

Table 1:
Mass of weight hanger M = 0.08565 kg
Weight
(N)
Position y

Mg

Mg+100

Mg+200

Mg+300

Mg+400

Mg+500

yo
1.521

g
y1
1.498

g
y2
1.457

g
y3
1.415

g
y4
1.373

g
y5
1.332

0.041

0.042

0.042

0.041

initial (m)
Displacem 0.023
ent yo y1
(m)
Table 2:

m = M + 0.25kg = 0.33565kg
Equilibrium position (ho) = 1.436m
Point

Displacem

Velocity(m

KE (J)

PE (J)

ME (J)

ent
0.066 m

/s)
0.003

1.51 *

0.27

0.27

0.568
0.039

10^-6
0.0541
2.55*10^-

0.22
0.28

0.27
0.28

2
3

0.005
-0.071

IV. Results: Calculations

KE = mv^2 / 2
Sample Calculation Point 1 :
KE = (0.33565)(0.003^2) / 2 = 1.51 * 10^-6 J
PE = kx^2/2 + m^2g^2/(2k)
Sample Calculation Point 1 :
PE = 25.024(0.066)^2/2 + 0.33565^2*9.8^2/(2*25.024) = 0.27J
ME = KE + PE
Sample Calculation Point 1 :

ME = 1.51*10^-6 + 0.27 = 0.27J

Percentage of Error = |Theoretical Experimental|/ Theoretical * 100%
= |0.28 0.27| / 0.28 * 100% = 3.6%
V. Discussion and Analysis of Results
1. You may observe that there are some wiggles in the total mechanical
energy graph. How big are they? What is percentage difference
between maximum and minimum values displayed?
In the total mechanical energy graph, there are some wiggles but they
are not very big and significant, showing that the total mechanical
energy was conserved. The percentage different that we got for our
data was 3.6%.
In this experiment, we had little significant error present due to realworld conditions present and the limitations of the precisions of the
instruments used during the lab. For example, the vibrations in the air and
sound waves could have altered the precise movements and energy loss. We
had a low percent error of about 3.6%, so this is not very significant to say
energy was not conserved and indeed it was conserved. Some other factors
which could have resulted in this would be wind drafts, change in
temperature, and vibrations/sound waves. These interferences definitely led
to our data not being equal to the theoretical values. We could have done
this experiment better if we had used a more accurate method of measuring
the weights and made sure no factors such as vibrations and temperature
would affect our data. If I was to repeat this experiment, I would definitely
improve upon my mistakes and be able to produce more accurate results. I
learned how the conservation of energy works and am able to now apply it
to real world scenarios. This lab also helped me explore the motion of the

objects and I learned how to find the spring constant using experimental
data.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, this lab was very helpful and allowed me to gain a lot of
knowledge about the law of conservation of energy. By varying the weight
and using a spring, we were able to see if the total mechanical energy was
indeed conserved as it should be. Due to experimental variation and random
sources of error, we experienced an error of 3.6%. This is very little and
negligible though, and it would be just to say that our experiment proved
that we conserved total mechanical energy. We indeed learned a lot from
this experiment, and were successfully able to plot our data and be able to
find the spring force constant using the slope of the graph.