sharapova Posted June 29, 2015 Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 hello everyone,we were asked to look for a topic for our IA and I'm stuck here cant find any. I was thinking to do something on damped simple harmonic motion using spring and mass system but I don't know from where to start or what to really investigate .. if anyone can provide help it would be highly appreciated i'm taking physics SL btw Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kw0573 Posted June 29, 2015 Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 2015 SL physics kid hereIn the 2009-2015 syllabus there were a few examples on damped harmonic motions. Probably they also occur in the new syllabus. Like you have to consider the factors involved right so for example, spring constant, horizontal vs vertical springs, how many springs, time for spring to stop oscillating, fix one end or both ends.Narrowing down your variables can help you determine what to control, to change, and to measure/detect.Another way is to google some physics questions (homework, contests, so if you are in US, maybe the AAPT PhysicsBowl?) on damped or undamped harmonic motion / springs to help you look for a specific research question. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleChopChop Posted July 5, 2015 Report Share Posted July 5, 2015 My EE deals a lot with this topic. I don't know exactly how the new Physics IA works (I'm on the old syllabus) but you may benefit from contrasting two types of damping. Under viscous forces (eg air resistance, force proportional in magnitude but opposite in direction to velocity), the maximum amplitude of oscillation (and thus max velocity) will decay exponentially with time. Under dry friction (approximately considered to be a constant force opposite to the direction of motion), the maximum amplitude will decay linearly with time. You could put a mass on a spring on an air track and attach a sail or something for the viscous forces. Put a card on top and place a light gate at the equilibrium point - you can measure max velocity with respect to time, and see if it decays exponentially (it will). You could do something similar on a surface with friction (and minimise the surface area to avoid viscous resistance) for the linear decay. If you're still thinking of doing this topic I can find you derivations for both trends (the viscous one is quite complex - involves differential equations, so you may be best just citing it as a source, although the dry friction one should be fine at an IB level). Hope this helps - let me know if you have any questions! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.