Write a program that models the movement of an object with mass m that is attached to an oscillating spring. When a spring is displaced from its equilibrium position by an amount x, Hooke’s law states that the restoring force is F = –kx where k is a constant that depends on the spring. (Use 10 N∕m for this simulation.)

Start with a given displacement x (say, 0.5 meter). Set the initial velocity v to 0. Compute the acceleration a from Newton’s law (F = ma) and Hooke’s law, using a mass of 1 kg. Use a small time interval Δt = 0.01 second. Update the velocity––it changes by aΔt. Update the displacement––it changes by vΔt. Every ten iterations, plot the spring displacement as a bar, where 1 pixel represents 1 cm. Use the technique in Special Topic 4.3 for creating an image.

Unstretched spring