Consider a mass on a spring, oscillating under the influence of a non-conservative retarding force, such as air drag. How would the retarding force affect the PERIOD of the oscillations? In a sentence or two, justify your answer.

When you push a child on a swing, your action is most effective when your pushes are timed to concide with the natural frequency of the motion. You are swinging a 30 kg child on a swing suspended from 5 meter cables.

Estimate the optimum time interval between your pushes.

Repeat the estimate for a 15 kg child.

Suppose you are told that the period of a simple pendulum depends only on the length of the pendulum L and the accelerationn due to gravity g. Use dimensional analysis to show that the square of the period is proportional to the ratio of L/g.

You want to construct a poor-man's amusement ride by mounting a seat on a large spring. Estimate the spring constant that would give you a ride with a period of 10 seconds.