Question
A mass hanging from a spring is set in motion and its ensuing velocity is given by
for
. Assume that the positive
direction is upward and
.
a. Determine the position function for
.
b. Graph the position function on the interval
.
c. At what times does the mass reach its lowest point the first three times?
d. At what times does the mass reach its highest point the first three times?
direction is upward and
a. Determine the position function for
b. Graph the position function on the interval
c. At what times does the mass reach its lowest point the first three times?
d. At what times does the mass reach its highest point the first three times?
Ask by Stanley Little. in the United States
Jan 23,2025
Upstudy AI Solution
Tutor-Verified Answer
Answer
a. The position function is
.
b. The graph of
on the interval
shows peaks at
seconds and troughs at
seconds.
c. The mass reaches its lowest point at
s,
s, and
s.
d. The mass reaches its highest point at
s,
s, and
s.
Solution

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Beyond the Answer
To find the position function, we first need to integrate the velocity function. The velocity function is given by
.
a. Determine the position function for
.
The position function
can be found by integrating the velocity function:
Using the integral of
, we have:
To find the constant
, we use the initial condition
:
Thus, the position function is:
b. Graph the position function on the interval
.
The graph of
will oscillate between its maximum value, 3 (when
,
, …), and its minimum value, -3 (when
,
, …). This function has a period of 2.5 seconds, meaning it will reach its highest and lowest points twice in the interval [0, 3].
In the first cycle from
to
, the graph will start at
, decrease to the lowest point
, and return to the maximum at
. In this interval, you will see a complete oscillation, starting from the maximum, reaching the minimum, and coming back up.
c. At what times does the mass reach its lowest point the first three times?
To find the times
when the mass reaches its lowest point, we set
:
This occurs when
for integers
, hence:
The lowest point occurs at:
- For
: - For
: - For
:
So the first three times are
.
d. At what times does the mass reach its highest point the first three times?
To find the times
when the mass reaches its highest point, we set
:
This occurs when
, leading to:
The highest point occurs at:
- For
: - For
: - For
:
So the first three times are
.