As a part of one of my courses I have to model a system using dynamics. For those of you who do not know, dynamics is a core class in the Aerospace engineering major that basically allows you to predict the motion of objects under certain conditions. There are many methods that can be used to predict motion such as sum of forces, work energy, rigid body, and sum of forces/moments.

In my project I am predicting the motion of a spring pendulum system using all of the methods listed above. In addition to those methods, I am also using the CATIA design software to create the mass that oscillates on the end of the spring. (check out the picture below to see an actual spring  pendulum)

So far, it has been going very well, I have most of the methods done but, I still need to identify the k (spring constant) of the spring I am using in order to obtain a more accurate mathematical model. Have any of you modeled something dynamically before? If so, we engineers at Embry Riddle would love to hear about it!! Please comment below, and I will be sure to keep you updated on my progress!!