What is a Response Spectrum? The typical earthquake ground motion response spectrum represents an envelope of the peak responses of many single-degree-of freedom (SDOF) systems with different periods. The acceleration response spectrum of a ground motion is a relationship between the natural period of vibration of a sdof system and the maximum absolute acceleration that it experiences under the ground motion. Similarly, a lisplacement response spectrum typically represents the peak placement, relative to the ground, of many sdof systems with different periods. Hence, the construction of a response spectrum involves the analysis of many different sdof systems. The value of each point on the spectrum is the peak response of a single degree of freedom system of a given period. This is illustrated in Figure 1 below, where the displacement spectrum of a record from the Palm Springs Earthquake story response at several periods. The relationship between the peak response at the different periods and the spectrum is graphically illustrated. shown, along with the time Dice