Justification for spring in series/parallel

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The discussion centers on understanding why spring constants add reciprocally in a series configuration and directly in parallel. The original poster seeks a formal proof for this behavior, having already solved a related problem. They express confidence in their logic and confirm their findings through online resources but desire a deeper mathematical justification. The poster finds the parallel configuration straightforward but struggles with the series case. Ultimately, they report that they have grasped the concept after further reading.
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Homework Statement


Find the frequency of oscillation of mass m suspended by two springs having constants k1 and k2, in each of the configurations shown.

my question isn't on how to solve the problem but rather why the constants add with reciprocal action for parallel. I was able to figure this out with just logic and confirmed it with the internet, but i would like a formal "proof", if you can call it that, for why it works.
assume massless springs.

Homework Equations


F=-kx
Series: 1/k1+1/k2=1/Keq

The Attempt at a Solution


nada, already solved the problem, just want justification. Thanks for the help

EDIT: i am reading the proof on wikipedia, but it'll still take a while for me to get it as my physical intuition is still trying to catch up with the math. Parallel is easy, got that. all that's left is series
 
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Took me a while, but i got it. thanks all.
 

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