Question

1. a car mounted on the springs in its suspension acts like a mass on a spring. state what will happen to the frequency of oscillations if passengers are added to the car. a. stay the same b. increase c. decrease d. depends on their masses

Explanation:

Step1: Recall the formula for the frequency of a mass - spring system

The frequency of a mass - spring system is given by \(f=\frac{1}{2\pi}\sqrt{\frac{k}{m}}\), where \(k\) is the spring constant and \(m\) is the mass.

Step2: Analyze the effect of adding passengers

When passengers are added to the car, the mass \(m\) of the system (car + passengers) increases. Since \(f=\frac{1}{2\pi}\sqrt{\frac{k}{m}}\), and \(k\) (spring constant of the car's suspension springs) remains approximately constant (assuming the springs are not over - stressed and their elastic properties don't change drastically), as \(m\) increases, the value of \(\sqrt{\frac{k}{m}}\) decreases.

Answer:

C. decrease