A 2.0 kg bucket is attached to a horizontal ideal spring and rests on frictionless ice. You have a 1.0 kg mass that you must drop into the bucket. Where should the bucket be when you drop the mass (so it is moving
purely vertically when it lands in the bucket) if your goal is to:
(a) Maximize the amplitude of the oscillation of the resulting 3.0 kg mass and spring system.
(b) Minimize the amplitude of the oscillation of the resulting 3.0 kg mass and spring system.

x = A cos (w \sqrt{2y_{o}/g})

a) maximun  Ф= \sqrt{\frac{2}{3}  \frac{2 y_{o} }{g}  }

b) minimun     Ф = - \sqrt{\frac{2}{3}  \frac{2 y_{o} }{g}  }

Explanation:

For this exercise let's use kinematics to find the time it takes for the mass to reach the floor

         y = y₀ + v₀ t - ½ g t²

as the mass is released from rest, its initial velocity is zero (vo = 0) and its height upon reaching the ground is zero (y = 0)

      0 = y₀ - ½ g t²

      t =

The bucket-spring system has a simple harmonic motion, which is described by

     x = A cos wt

in this expression we assumed that the phase constant (Ф) is zero

let's replace the time

     x = A cos (w \sqrt{2y_{o}/g})

this is the distance where the system must be for the mass to fall into it.

a) The new system has a total mass of m ’= 3.0 kg, so its angular velocity changes

          w =

In the initial state

         w = \sqrt{k/2}

When the mass changes

         w ’= \sqrt{k/3}

the displacement in each case is

         x = A cos (wt)

for the new case

        x ’= A cos (w’t + Ф)

the phase constant is included to take into account possible changes due to the collision of the mass.

we see that this maximum expressions when the cosine is maximum

        cos (w´t + Ф) = 1

         w’t + Ф = 0

        Ф = -w ’t

        Ф = -

       \sqrt{\frac{2}{3}  \frac{2 y_{o} }{g}  }

b) the function is minimun if

        cos (w’t + fi) = 0

        w’t + Ф = π / 2

        Ф = π / 2 - w ’t

        Ф = - \sqrt{\frac{2}{3}  \frac{2 y_{o} }{g}  }

powerful computers now, not then

your answer is c! hope this : )