Click on the pictures to see videos of different examples of common objects exhibiting the dynamic behavior of a spring mass system. As you explore the spring mass and forced spring mass modules, you will learn about the elements at work in the videos and answer questions like the following:

  • Which of these examples are forced spring mass systems?
  • Which show significant damping characteristics?
  • When modeling these systems, what assumptions must be made to simplify while maintaining essential characteristics in the model?

A cyclical force is being applied to the fork of the bicycle. Is there a spring, a damper, or both inside?

This office chair stays upright until you push on it. How much force do you need to apply to lean the chair back?.

A car's suspension uses a spring and a damper together. What kind of damping does suspension provide: Coulomb, viscous, square law, or structural?

The dial on this spring scale is linear, but is the spring? How accurate is the scale at recording relatively high or low weights?

The ski vibrates quickly when displaced. What does this say about its spring coefficient k? As the amplitude quickly dies down, where does the energy go?

All the branches of this tree are moving with their own directions and amplitudes. Can the tree be modeled as a single spring or should it be considered a system?