Damped Mass–Spring Analytics for H2 Physics Practical Excellence

Q: What does Damped Mass–Spring Analytics for H2 Physics Practical Excellence cover?
A: Capture high-resolution displacement data from a damped spring–mass system, extract logarithmic decrements.

TL;DR
A tripod-mounted smartphone filming a spring–mass oscillation gives you displacement–time data you can digitise in Tracker or PhyPhox.
Fit an exponential decay to determine damping coefficients, compare with theory, and practise writing uncertainty paragraphs on gradients, intercepts, and logarithmic decrement.
The workflow reinforces SHM theory while matching the video-data analysis style used in Paper 4 practicals.

Why Add Damping to Your Practical Portfolio

• Candidates often struggle to articulate non-ideal oscillations; this investigation focuses on that blind spot.
• Quantifying damping ties directly to Wave & SHM chapters in the 9478 syllabus and expands beyond the typical simple pendulum write-up.
• Smartphones + free apps reduce hardware costs while still giving the high data density that strengthens evaluation sections.

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