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Oscillations Experiments and Tutorials for Classical Mechanics
written by Deva O'Neil
sub author: Dr. Susan Lehman
This document provides supplementary materials (experimental activities and tutorials) for a unit on oscillations and simple harmonic motion in intermediate-level Classical Mechanics.

It offers two (independent) experiments developed for an intermediate Classical Mechanics course.

1. Undamped pendulum (employs a small weight attached to a long string)-  developed to address student difficulties with simple harmonic motion that present at the intermediate level. In assessing student learning at Bridgewater College and College of Wooster, we found that upper-level students struggled to use energy conservation reasoning appropriately, and made errors in interpreting the role of an initial push on the subsequent motion of a pendulum. The experiment targets these learning obstacles. The experiment is simple to set up and does not require a lab room - just a surface suitable for mounting a simple pendulum.

2. Damped pendulum - requires setting up a pendulum that leaks a sand trail. Requires a lab room or other area with flat tables.

The materials required are small weights, a horizontal bar mounted above a desk, sand or coarse cornmeal, rulers, stopwatches, protractors, and common household materials (tape, paper, string).

In addition to the experiments, this document outlines class discussion and small-group discussion questions to prepare students for the experiments. A tutorial is provided, intended to be completed in small groups, that guides students through the derivation of the equation of motion of a damped oscillator. The tutorial is intended to replace a lecture on damped oscillations.
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Oscillations & Waves
- Oscillations
= Damped Oscillators
= Pendula
= Simple Harmonic Motion
= Springs and Oscillators
- Upper Undergraduate
- Instructional Material
= Curriculum
= Laboratory
= Tutorial
Material Category Formats Ratings
- Articles and Supplements
- application/zip
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application/zip
Access Rights:
Free access
Restriction:
Does not have a copyright, license, or other use restriction.
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created August 17, 2017 by Deva O'Neil
Record Updated:
April 19, 2020 by Bruce Mason
Last Update
when Cataloged:
August 17, 2017
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AIP Format
D. O'Neil, , 2017, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14512&DocID=4708).
AJP/PRST-PER
D. O'Neil, Oscillations Experiments and Tutorials for Classical Mechanics, 2017, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14512&DocID=4708>.
APA Format
O'Neil, D. (2017). Oscillations Experiments and Tutorials for Classical Mechanics. Retrieved December 13, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14512&DocID=4708
Chicago Format
O'Neil, Deva. "Oscillations Experiments and Tutorials for Classical Mechanics." 2017. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14512&DocID=4708 (accessed 13 December 2024).
MLA Format
O'Neil, Deva. Oscillations Experiments and Tutorials for Classical Mechanics. 2017. 13 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14512&DocID=4708>.
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@techreport{ Author = "Deva O'Neil", Title = {Oscillations Experiments and Tutorials for Classical Mechanics}, Month = {August}, Year = {2017} }
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%A Deva O'Neil %T Oscillations Experiments and Tutorials for Classical Mechanics %D August 17, 2017 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14512&DocID=4708 %O application/zip

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%0 Report %A O'Neil, Deva %D August 17, 2017 %T Oscillations Experiments and Tutorials for Classical Mechanics %8 August 17, 2017 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14512&DocID=4708


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