Four identical light rigid rods are connected by frictionless joints in the shape of a square. A light spring with a force constant k connects two opposite vertices of the square. A small mass m is attached to one of the joints as shown.
The assembly is placed on a horizontal frictionless table and attached to the table at point A. Mass m is then pulled horizontally a small distance directly away from A and then released. How long would it take the mass to come back to its original position for the first time?
We received many solutions from all over the world to our October Challenge, A big spider chase. It was good to see many first-time contributors, both students and teachers. We are pleased to recognize the following contributors:
Guidelines for contributors:
Many thanks to all contributors and we hope to hear from many more...