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AP Physics C: Mechanics
7.2 Frequency and Period of SHM
IntermediateMCQMathematicalConceptual17.8k
A horizontal hatched line at the top represents a rigid ceiling support. A single vertical coiled spring extends downward from the center of the support. The bottom of the spring attaches to the center of a small horizontal flat tray labeled m_0. A rectangular block labeled m rests on top of the tray. A vertical dashed line with two small arrowheads indicating up-and-down oscillation is positioned to the right of the tray. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.
Experimental setup of the vertical spring-mass oscillator.
In an experiment to determine the spring constant \(k\) of an ideal vertical spring, a student places various known masses \(m\) onto a tray of unknown mass \(m_0\) attached to the bottom of the spring. The period \(T\) of small vertical oscillations is measured for each mass \(m\). To obtain a linear relationship that accounts for the unknown mass \(m_0\), which quantities should be plotted on the vertical and horizontal axes, and how is \(k\) determined from the slope \(S\) of the line of best fit?

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