University of Auckland/Department of Physics/Physics 102/Period
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| The period of an oscillation is the time for one complete vibration. The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event. |
The time to complete one oscillation remains constant and is called the Period T, usually in units of seconds
Units
The period has units of seconds, milliseconds, nanoseconds, kiloseconds
T = 1/f
T being the period in seconds (or milliseconds, etc) f being the frequency in Hertz
A. A Period is the time it takes for one complete vibration, oscillation, or cycle to move past a fixed point.
Mass on a Spring
Q. What does the period depend on? (Hint try experimenting wit the Mass Spring Simulation)
A. In lecture we determined that a smaller mass oscillates with a shorter period and larger mass oscillates with a longer period.
Q. How does the frequency depend on the mass?
A. The frequencey depends on how heavy an object is attached to the spring. The greater the mass on a spring the slower the frequency and the smaller the mass the greater the frequency.
FYI
Heres a link thats like an online interactive textbook. Will answer any questions you might have..: http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/waves/wavestoc.html (dhic014)
