Motion of Mass Attached to a Spring

One of the simplest type of oscillatory morion is that of horizontal mass-spring system. If the spring is stretched or compressed through a small displacement x from its mean position, it exert a force F on the mass. According to Hooke's Law this force is given by F = -kx where x is the displacement of the mass from its mean position O, and k is a constant called the spring's constant defined as k = -F/x The value of k is a mesure of the stiffness of the spring. Stiff springs have large value of k and soft springs have small value of k. As F =ma Therefore k = -ma/x or a = -k/m x It means that the acceleration of a mass attached to a spring is directly proportion to its