THE COMPUTERIZED STUDENT LABORATORY - MOTION IN A POTENTIAL WELL

The motion of a body in a potential well is studied in the computerized undergraduate student laboratory. Both large and small oscillations are studied. Small oscillations are found to be harmonic, and the frequency of the oscillations are found to tend to a constant value as the amplitude tends to zero. The trajectory in phase space is studied for both small and large oscillations. The potential energy is found as a function of position by two methods.