General Question About Spring/Mass System

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In a spring/mass system problem, it's essential to use consistent units, particularly when applying formulas designed for the metric system (mks). If given values in feet and pounds, conversion to meters and Newtons is necessary for accurate calculations. The discussion highlights confusion around the unit of mass known as "slugs," which may arise when using imperial units. The consensus suggests that for academic purposes, it's likely that mass should be expressed in kilograms rather than slugs. Ultimately, clarity on unit requirements from the instructor is crucial for solving the problem correctly.
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In a spring/mass system problem, if you are given your values in units of feet and pounds, are you supposed to convert them to units of Newtons and meters??
 
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If you are using formulae which have been designed for the mks system, then yes, you must use mks units.
 
In my case, I'm not really sure what I should use. For my problem, when I use the kx=mg equation and solve for my mass, I end up getting an answer in units of slugs.


http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mechanics/slug.html


Looking at the above link, it tells me that a slug is a unit of mass, so I'll have to try to go with it...
 
Meadman23 said:
...I end up getting an answer in units of slugs.

Haha! I've never heard of slugs before! And I'm in the US. Is that sad? When will we stop being so stubborn and just use metric units? And rename football to handball?

As for your problem, it really depends on what your teacher wants. Though I'm guessing that's kilograms and not slugs.
 

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