This document describes a second-order system using the example of a damped spring-mass system. It presents the differential equation that describes a general second-order linear time-invariant system. It then shows the specific forces acting on a block attached to a spring and damper. The momentum balance equation for the block leads to a standard second-order differential equation. Parameters for natural frequency and damping ratio are defined. Finally, the Laplace transform is applied to put the differential equation into transfer function form.