University Physics with Modern Physics (14th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0321973615
ISBN 13: 978-0-32197-361-0

Chapter 5 - Applying Newton's Laws - Problems - Discussion Questions - Page 159: Q5.5

Answer

See work.

Work Step by Step

Though the astronaut is apparently weightless, she still has inertia. If the astronaut is attached to a stiff spring and oscillates back and forth, the frequency of oscillation depends on the mass (as later seen in Equations 14.10-14.12). The larger the mass, the slower the oscillations. The period for one complete cycle is $T=2\pi\sqrt{\frac{m}{k}}$, where k is the stiffness (“spring constant”) of the spring.
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