Chapter 13

Vibrations and Waves

Chapter Outline
13.1 Hooke’s Law (p. 445)
KEY TERMS: spring constant, Hooke's law, simple harmonic motion,
amplitude (A), period (T), frequency (f)
Example 13.1: Simple Harmonic Motion on a Frictionless Surface (p. 447)
Example 13.2: Mass on a Vertical Spring (p. 448)
13.2 Elastic Potential Energy (p. 449)
KEY TERM: elastic potential energy (PEs)
Example 13.3: Stop That Car! (p. 450)
Velocity as a Function of Position (p. 452)
Example 13.4: The Object-Spring System Revisited (p. 452)
13.3 Comparing Simple Harmonic Motion with Uniform Circular Motion (p. 453)
Period and Frequency (p. 454)
KEY TERMS: frequency (f), hertz (Hz), angular frequency (ω)
Applying Physics 13.1: Bungee Jumping (p. 456)
Example 13.5: That Car Needs Shock Absorbers! (p. 456)
13.4 Position, Velocity, and Acceleration as a Function of Time (p. 457)
Example 13.6: The Vibrating Object–Spring System (p. 458)
13.5 Motion of a Pendulum (p. 460)
Example 13.7: Measuring the Value of g (p. 462)
The Physical Pendulum (p. 463)
13.6 Damped Oscillations (p. 463)
13.7 Waves (p. 464)
What Is a Wave? (p. 464)
Applying Physics 13.2: Burying Bond (p. 465)
Types of Waves (p. 465)
KEY TERMS: traveling wave, longitudinal wave, soliton
Picture of a Wave (p. 466)
13.8 Frequency, Amplitude, and Wavelength (p. 466)
KEY TERMS: amplitude (A), wavelength (λ), wave speed (v)
Example 13.8: A Traveling Wave (p. 467)
Example 13.9: Sound and Light (p. 468)
13.9 The Speed of Waves on Strings (p. 468)
Example 13.10: A Pulse Traveling on a String (p. 469)
13.10 Interference of Waves (p. 470)
KEY TERMS: superposition principle, constructive interference, destructive
interference
13.11 Reflection of Waves (p. 471)

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46 Vibrations and Waves Chapter 13

Chapter Objectives
In this chapter, students will explore the elastic properties of matter and the simple
harmonic oscillations of a vibrating system.

13.1 Define Hooke’s law, spring constant, amplitude, period, and frequency. Explain
simple harmonic motion, and relate the restoring force and resulting acceleration
to a mass’s displacement from equilibrium.
13.2 Apply the conservation of total mechanical energy to solve problems involving
springs. Use energy considerations to examine the connection between velocity
and displacement for mass-spring systems.
13.3 Explain the relationship between simple harmonic motion and uniform circular
motion. Calculate the period and frequency of an object-spring system.
13.4 Calculate displacement, velocity, and acceleration for systems experiencing
simple harmonic motion.
13.5 Explain the relationship between the period, length, and gravitational
acceleration for a simple pendulum. State the general approximation that must
be made to derive the pendulum equation.
13.6 Discuss damped oscillations for a system experiencing simple harmonic motion
with friction.
13.7 Describe wave motion. Compare and contrast transverse and longitudinal
waves, citing examples.
13.8 Solve sample problems using the wave speed equation.
13.9 Calculate the velocity of a transverse string wave.
13.10 Define the superposition principle for adding waves. Describe constructive and
destructive interference, with examples.
13.11 Explain the rules for reflection and transmission of a wave pulse at a boundary.

Lesson Plan for AP* Physics 1

AP* Physics 1 Curriculum Framework Components: Chapter 13

LO 3.B.3.1 [SPs 6.4 and 7.2]

LO 3.B.3.2 [SP 4.2]
LO 3.B.3.3 [SPs 2.2 and 5.1]
LO 3.B.3.4 [SPs 2.2 and 6.2]
LO 6.A.1.1 [SP 6.2]
LO 6.A.1.2 [SP 1.2]
LO 6.A.3.1 [SP 1.4]
LO 6.A.4.1 [SP 6.4]
LO 6.B.1.1 [SPs 1.4 and 2.2]
LO 6.B.2.1 [SP 1.4]
LO 6.B.4.1 [SPs 4.2, 5.1, and 7.2]
LO 6.D.1.1 [SPs 1.1 and 1.4]
LO 6.D.1.2 [SPs 4.2 and 5.1]
LO 6.D.1.3 [SP 4.2]
LO 6.D.2.1 [SP 5.1]

*AP and Advanced Placement Program are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination
Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.

2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or part.
Chapter 13 Vibrations and Waves 47

Suggested Time for AP Physics 1

10 traditional classes or 5 blocks. Invest time in every section of Chapter 13, for each
supports the Curriculum Framework of AP Physics 1.

Lesson Plan for AP* Physics 2

AP* Physics 2 Curriculum Framework Components: Chapter 13

LO 6.A.1.2 [SP 1.2]

LO 6.A.2.2 [SPs 6.4 and 7.2]
LO 6.B.3.1 [SP 1.5]
LO 6.C.1.1 [SPs 6.4 and 7.2]
LO 6.C.1.2 [SP 1.4]
LO 6.F.2.1 [SP 1.1]

Suggested Time for AP Physics 2

2 traditional classes or 1 block. The necessary content from chapter 13 will mostly be
review of wave studies from AP Physics 1. Review relevant ideas, especially the
principle of superposition and wave types, as necessary to support the description of
wave behavior of electromagnetic radiation later in chapters 21 and 24.

Assessment
Quick Quizzes:
13.1 (p. 447)
13.2 (p. 447)
13.3 (p. 450)
13.4 (p. 455)
13.5 (p. 455)
13.6 (p. 458)
13.7 (p. 462)
13.8 (p. 462)
13.9 (p. 462)

Quick Quiz answers: Text p. A.37 (answers with explanations, IM p. 434)

Warm-Up Exercises: Text pp. 473–474 (odd-numbered answers, Text p. A.37–A.38;

answers with explanations, IM pp. 434–436)

Conceptual Questions: Text p. 474 (odd-numbered answers, Text p. A.38; even-numbered

answers, IM p. 436)

Problems: Text pp. 474–480 (odd-numbered answers, Text p. A.38; even-numbered

answers, IM pp. 436–438; solutions, IM pp. 438–461)

Test Bank: Chapter 13 available on the Instructor's Companion Website

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48 Vibrations and Waves Chapter 13

Study Tips
Tip 13.1 Constant-Acceleration Equations Don’t Apply
The acceleration a of a particle in simple harmonic motion is not constant; it changes,
varying with x, so we can’t apply the constant acceleration kinematic equations of
Chapter 2.

Tip 13.2 Twin Frequencies

The frequency gives the number of cycles per second, whereas the angular frequency gives
the number of radians per second. These two physical concepts are nearly identical and
are linked by the conversion factor 2π rad/cycle.

Tip 13.3 Pendulum Motion Is Not Harmonic

Remember that the pendulum does not exhibit true simple harmonic motion for any
angle. If the angle is less than about 15°, the motion can be modeled as approximately
simple harmonic.

2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or part.