Calculating Spring Constant for Car Suspension | 1300 kg Vehicle Weight

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The discussion revolves around calculating the spring constant for a car's suspension system given a vehicle weight of 1300 kg and an oscillation frequency of 3 Hz. The springs are treated as identical and arranged in parallel, leading to a total spring constant expressed as 4k. The initial approach used the wrong formula for angular frequency, leading to an incorrect calculation. Correcting the formula to w = 2πf allows for the accurate determination of the spring constant, which is found to be 2925 N/m. The conversation highlights the importance of using the correct equations in physics problems.
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Homework Statement


An automobile can be considered to be mounted on four identical springs as far as vertical oscillations are concerned. The springs of a certain car are adjusted so that the oscillations have a frequency of 3 Hz.
(a) What is the spring constant of each spring if the mass of the car is 1300 kg and the weight is evenly distributed over the springs?

Homework Equations



w = (k/m)^(1/2)
k(total) = k1 + k2 + k3 + k4 = 4k

The Attempt at a Solution



Since the springs are arranged in a parallel fashion, I can add their individual spring constants for an overall constant. Since the springs are identical, I can rewrite the sum of constants as 4k. Then, using the first equation listed above I have:

3 = (4k/1300)^(1/2) and solving for k I found the solution to be 2925 N/m. What's wrong with my approach?
 
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w =/= f
w = 2πf
That's the only thing I can spot that's wrong. See if that gets you to the text-book's answer.

You're welcome. ^^
 
Last edited:
Dumb mistake on my part...thanks for the help...you're right on the money!
 

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