Answer to Question #293187 in Physics for San

Question

Activity Direction: Place a raisin or marshmallow on the end of a stick of spaghetti. Shake your hands back and forth to make the pasta/raisin system oscillate.

Materials: Pasta and Raisins/Marshmallows

A. Does the period depend on the mass?

B. Does the period depend on the length?

Answer the following questions on a separate paper.

• a) Do you think this system motion would fall under the classification of simple harmonic motion? Provide as much evidences as you can for your answer.

•

• b) Do your answers to A and B above matches a spring/mass system or a pendulum? How so?

•

• c) Do you think this system can be modeled as pendulum, spring, or neither? What are your reasons for each?

Answer 1

A. Does the period depend on the mass?

Seems like yes

B. Does the period depend on the length?

Yes

• a) Do you think this system motion would fall under the classification of simple harmonic motion? Provide as much evidences as you can for your answer.

Yes because the motion is periodic

• b) Do your answers to A and B above matches a spring/mass system or a pendulum? How so?

Yes because the spaghetti has a certain degree of flexibility

• c) Do you think this system can be modeled as pendulum, spring, or neither? What are your reasons for each?

It can be modeled as a combination of both pendulum and spring because it has flexibility and gravity affects its motion.