Modeling the Motion of a Spring Math 1060 Project
This modeling assignment was to consider a weight attached
to a spring suspended from a horizontal bar when set in motion from a position
below the equilibrium. In the action we can create a function by giving the
positon of the weight as a function of time in seconds, using graphs and
trigonometric calculations.
Mass springs are used daily in all sorts of applications.
When I think of a spring motion, I remember when the spring above my garage
door broke, after many years of use. The door was impossible to move on its’
own without much effort, until a new spring was installed. As a child we would bounce on our trampoline
in the summer months. There were many
springs used to hold the fabric stretched across the frame, this allowed a
gentle bounce as the springs pulled from a standing position of equilibrium,
made the elastic potential energy required for the return upward motion of the
bounce. As a child it was just great fun.
This project didn’t really change my views towards the use
of trigonometry, instead it just gave an example of a system of measurements; these
measurements however are needed in daily life.
