About Masses and Springs: Basics
Hang masses from springs and discover how they stretch and oscillate. Compare two mass-spring systems, and experiment with spring constant. Transport the lab to different planets, slow down time, and observe the velocity and acceleration throughout the oscillation.
How to play Masses and Springs: Basics
Everything is hands-on: drag, click and experiment — the simulation reacts instantly. Hang masses from springs and discover how they stretch and oscillate.
Questions & answers
- What is Masses and Springs: Basics?
- Masses and Springs: Basics is a free interactive simulation from PhET Interactive Simulations (University of Colorado Boulder) that you can play right in your browser on crumble.lol — no downloads and no sign-up. Hang masses from springs and discover how they stretch and oscillate. Compare two mass-spring systems, and experiment with spring constant.
- What can kids learn from Masses and Springs: Basics?
- It helps kids explore: describe the natural length and equilibrium position in your own words. find the relationship between the mass, spring strength (spring constant), and stretch (displacement). design an experiment to determine the mass of a mystery object develop a method to measure the period. determine the factors which affect the period of oscillation. compare the gravity on planet x to known benchmarks. describe the relationship between the velocity and acceleration vectors, and their relationship to motion, at various points in the oscillation.
- What age is Masses and Springs: Basics good for?
- It is designed for elementary school (roughly ages 5–10) up to middle school (roughly ages 10–14), and curious kids outside that range can absolutely enjoy poking around it too.
- Is Masses and Springs: Basics free to play?
- Yes — Masses and Springs: Basics is completely free on crumble.lol and runs fully in your browser on computers and tablets.