Strings and Springs

Michael McIntosh               Whitney Young Magnet High School
                               211 S. Laflin St.
                               Chicago IL 60607
                               (312) 534-7539

Objective:

By measuring several periodic phenomena, the student will make graphs and 
determine what the different shapes indicate.

Materials:

Two springs
Two strings slightly longer than 1 m
120 washers
Four stopwatches

Strategy:

The activities will be in four separate stations.  The students will divide into 
groups of four or five and circulate through the stations.

Station 1 The Bouncy Spring
Hang the spring vertically.  Hang 10 washers from the spring.  Lift the washers 
slightly and let them go.  Measure the time for 20 bounces.  Record the data in 
a table.  Repeat with 20, 30, 40, and 50 washers.  Make a graph of the data. 

Station 2 The Stretchy Spring
Hang the spring vertically and notice the position of the end.  Hang 5 washers 
from the spring and measure how far it stretched.  Record the data in a table. 
Repeat with 10, 15, 20, and 25 washers.  Make a graph of the data.

Station 3 Mass and Time
Hang a string so that it is 1 m long.  Attach 5 washers to the end of the 
string.  Pull the washers to to side slightly and let them go.  Measure the time 
for 20 swings.  Record the data in a table.  Repeat with 10, 15, 20, and 25 
washers.  Make a graph of the data.

Station 4 Length and Time
Hang a string and make loops at 20 cm, 40 cm, 60 cm, 80 cm, and 100 cm from 
the top.  Hang 15 washers from the first loop.  Pull the washers to the side 
slightly and let them go.  Measure the time for 20 swings.  Record the data in a 
table.  Repeat for the other loops.  Make a graph of the data. 

Performance Assessment:

Given pictures of several differently shaped graphs, determine which graph 
matches which station.