Past exam of the physics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2012 / Paper 1 / Section A / 3 / Solution

For a mass change in a viscously damped spring oscillator, use linear viscous damping $m\ddot{x}+b\dot{x}+kx=mg$, holding the spring constant $k$ and damping coefficient $b$ fixed. Measuring $x$ from $mg/k$ removes the constant force. The envelope is $e^{-\gamma t}$, whereDoubling $m$ halves both $k/m$ and $\gamma$. ThereforeNeglecting damping in the frequency gives $0.5/\sqrt{2}=0.35355\mathrm{Hz}$, indistinguishable at the supplied precision. The release condition sets the phase and new initial amplitude, not these envelope ratios. A different mass-dependent drag law would require its damping coefficient to be specified.