Masses and Springs

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Periodic Motion
Hooke's Law
Conservation of Energy

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Original Sim and Translations

Topics

Periodic Motion
Hooke's Law
Conservation of Energy
Newton's Laws
Measurement
Vectors

Description

Hang masses from springs and adjust the spring constant and damping. Transport the lab to different planets, or slow down time. Observe the forces and energy in the system in real-time, and measure the period using the stopwatch.

Sample Learning Goals

Determine the factors which affect the period of oscillation
Find the value of g on Planet X
Design an experiment to determine the mass of an unknown object
Describe the relationship between the velocity and acceleration vectors, and their relationship to motion, at various points in the oscillation
Explain how the free-body diagram of the mass changes throughout its oscillation
Explain the Conservation of Mechanical Energy using kinetic, elastic potential, gravitational potential, and thermal energy

Version 1.0.10

Teacher Tips

Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Video Primer

Teacher-Submitted Activities


Concept questions for Physics using PhET (Inquiry Based)	Trish Loeblein	HS UG-Intro	MC	Physics
Algebra-based Physics Semester one lessons, clicker questions, and schedule in pdf (Inquiry Based)	Trish Loeblein	HS UG-Intro	Demo HW Lab	Physics
Conservation of Energy using Masses and Springs (homework version) (Inquiry Based)	Trish Loeblein	HS	HW	Physics
Conservation of Energy using Masses and Springs (Inquiry Based)	Trish Loeblein	HS	Lab	Physics
Masses and Springs Homework Determine Unknowns (Inquiry Based)	Trish Loeblein	UG-Intro HS	HW	Physics
Hooke's Law (Hands-on & PhET)	Elyse Zimmer	HS	Lab	Physics
Experimental Design with Forces	UTeach Middle School PhET Team	MS	Lab	Physics
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS	Trish Loeblein updated by Diana López	HS MS	Other	Chemistry Biology Earth Science Physics
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program?	Sarah Borenstein	MS	Other	Chemistry Physics Biology Earth Science
Hooke's Law, Spring Constant, and Energy HONORS	Steve Banasiak	HS	Lab	Physics
Hooke's Law and Spring Constant with Energy: Regular Level	Steve Banasiak	HS	Lab	Physics
Mapping of PhET and IBDP Physics	Jaya Ramchandani	HS	Other	Physics
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment	Elyse Zimmer	HS MS	Other	Physics Biology Chemistry
Spring Mass Experiment	Gaurang Patel	UG-Intro UG-Adv HS	Guided Lab	Physics
PhET Simulations Aligned for AP Physics C	Roberta Tanner	HS	Other	Physics
Energy in a Coil Spring	Norman Burtness	HS UG-Intro	Lab	Physics
Hooke's Law Lab	Clark Andersen	HS	Lab HW	Physics
Qualitative Introduction to Energy	Steve Banasiak	MS HS	Lab	Physics
Oplossing (Veren en massa's)	Roland Van Kerschaver	HS	Lab	Mathematics Physics
Massa's en veren	Roland Van Kerschaver	HS	Lab	Physics
Moteur en PhET	Bernard Lacour	Other	Lab	Physics
Estática (Atividades) nos OA's do PhET	Artur Araújo Cavalcante e Gilvandenys Leite Sales	UG-Intro MS Other HS	Other Guided HW Discuss Demo	Physics Earth Science Other
Dinâmica (Atividades) nos OA's do PhET	Artur Araújo Cavalcante e Gilvandenys Leite Sales	Other HS Grad UG-Adv MS	HW Guided Lab Other	Other Earth Science Physics

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Language
Arabic	All العربية	الكتل و النوابض
Azerbaijani	All Azerbaijani	Kütlələr və yaylar
Basque	All Euskara	Masak eta malgukiak
Bosnian	All Bosanski	Mase i opruge
Chinese (Simplified)	All 中文 (中国)	质量和弹簧
Chinese (Traditional)	All 中文 (台灣)	Masses and Springs_質量與彈簧
Croatian	All hrvatski	Mase i opruge
Danish	All Dansk	Vægte og fjedre
Dutch	All Nederlands	Massa’s en veren
French	All français	Masses et ressorts
German	All Deutsch	Massen und Federn
Greek	All Ελληνικά	Μάζες και ελατήρια
Gujarati	All Gujarati	દળ અને સ્પ્રિંગ -Pankajsid34
Hungarian	All magyar	Rugólabor
Irish	All Gaeilge	Maiseanna agus Lingeáin
Italian	All italiano	Masse e molle
Japanese	All 日本語	おもりとばね
Kazakh	All Kazakh	Серіппелі маятник
Korean	All 한국어	질량과 용수철
Mongolian	All Монгол (Монгол)	Масс ба Пүрш
Norwegian Bokmal	All Norsk bokmål	Lodd og fjær
Persian	All فارسی	جرم ها و فنرها
Polish	All polski	Ciężarki na sprężynach
Portuguese (Brazil)	All português (Brasil)	Massas e Molas
Russian	All русский	Пружинный маятник
Serbian	All Српски	Масе и опруге
Slovak	All Slovenčina	Pružinový oscilátor
Slovenian	All Slovenščina	Uteži in vzmeti
Spanish	All español	Laboratorio de Masas y Resortes
Spanish (Mexico)	All español (México)	Masas y Resortes
Spanish (Peru)	All español (Perú)	Masas y Resortes
Swedish	All svenska	Vikter och fjädrar
Tamil	All Tamil	Masses and Springs
Ukrainian	All українська	Маси і пружини
Vietnamese	All Tiếng Việt	Con lắc lò xo

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Design Team	Third-party Libraries	Thanks To
Denzell Barnett (developer) Matt Pennington (developer) Amy Rouinfar (lead designer) Mike Dubson (original designer) Wendy Adams Ariel Paul Kathy Perkins	almond-0.2.9.js base64-js-1.2.0.js FileSaver-b8054a2.js font-awesome-4.5.0 game-up-camera-1.0.0.js himalaya-0.2.7.js jama-1.0.2 jquery-2.1.0.js lodash-4.17.4.js pegjs-0.7.0.js seedrandom-2.4.2.js text-2.0.12.js TextEncoderLite-3c9f6f0.js