Calculating Spring Constant for Car Suspension | 1300 kg Vehicle Weight

  • Thread starter Thread starter synchronous
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Car Springs
AI Thread Summary
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.
synchronous
Messages
17
Reaction score
0

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?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
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!
 

Thread 'Struggling to understand the concept of this question (ice cube in water optics question)'

TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...
View full post »
Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'

Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'

Starting with the mass considerations #m(t)# is mass of water #M_{c}# mass of container and #M(t)# mass of total system $$M(t) = M_{C} + m(t)$$ $$\Rightarrow \frac{dM(t)}{dt} = \frac{dm(t)}{dt}$$ $$P_i = Mv + u \, dm$$ $$P_f = (M + dm)(v + dv)$$ $$\Delta P = M \, dv + (v - u) \, dm$$ $$F = \frac{dP}{dt} = M \frac{dv}{dt} + (v - u) \frac{dm}{dt}$$ $$F = u \frac{dm}{dt} = \rho A u^2$$ from conservation of momentum , the cannon recoils with the same force which it applies. $$\quad \frac{dm}{dt}...
View full post »

Similar threads

Calculating the Energy Absorbed by a Spring in a Car Suspension System
Replies
5
Views
2K
Spring constant of a car on springs
Replies
7
Views
7K
Suspension: Spring Constant Calculation for 500 kg Car
Replies
5
Views
2K
Finding effective spring constants
Replies
2
Views
4K
Solving Hooke's Law Problems: Compression & Forces
Replies
4
Views
3K
Updating the suspension of a car
Replies
3
Views
1K
Spring constant matrix and normal modes (4 springs and 3 masses)
Replies
2
Views
3K
Finding Spring Constant & Energy w/ Doubt in Exercise
Replies
7
Views
2K
Spring constant of each spring when compressed
Replies
2
Views
3K
Explaining Damping with a car's suspension
Replies
11
Views
3K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top