Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2003 / Paper 2 / 7 / Solution

Use the ordered displacement vector $q=(x_1,y_1,x_2,y_2,x_3,y_3,x_4,y_4{)}^T$, and define $K$ by $V=\frac{1}{2}{q}^{T}Kq$. For an unstretched spring, the extension to first order is the dot product of the relative displacement with its equilibrium unit vector. Summing its squared extensions gives the central spring stiffness matrix. The four side springs and two diagonal springs giveThereforeThe kinetic energy is $\frac{m}{2}{\dot{q}}^T\dot{q}$, so a normal mode satisfies $Kq=m{\omega }^{2}q$. Keeping the factor $1/2$ in the definition of $V$ fixes the normalization of $K$ and the resulting frequencies.