The effects on the human body of prolonged weightlessness are not understood. One important variable that must be monitored is the astronaut’s “weight”?. However, weight refers to the force of gravity on the body, orbit, that force is quite different that when the astronaut is On Earth. What actually must be measured is body mass. To perform this measurement, a spring-mass system is used, where the mass is the body of the astronaut. The astronaut sits in a special chair attached to springs. The frequency of the oscillation of the astronaut in the chair is measured and from this the mass is computed.

a) Suppose the chair has a mass of 20 kg. The system is initially calibrated by placing a known mass in the chair and measuring the period of oscillations. Suppose that a 25 kg mass placed in the chair results in an oscillation with period of 1.3 seconds per oscillation. We'll assume the coefficient of damping of the apparatus is very small (so as a first approximation we assume that there is no damping). What will be the period of oscillation of an astronaut with mass 60 kg?

b) What would the frequency be when you are sitting in the chair?

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