Simple harmonic motion Notes:

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

OSCILLATIONS:

When an object repeats its motion periodically in between a maximum and

minimum displacement from an equilibrium position, is called an oscillating
object.

Examples of oscillating objects include a spring or a swinging pendulum.

Figure 1

Free Oscillations are when the amplitude of the oscillation remains constant and there are
no frictional forces acting on the particle.

All harmonic oscillators have the following properties,

 The period of oscillation in independent of amplitude. Which means that each
oscillation takes the same time.
 A force is acting on the oscillating object to return it to its equilibrium position.
Below are some key words that are used to describe the characteristics of an oscillating

object:

o Amplitude: The maximum displacement from the equilibrium position.

o Time period: The time taken in seconds for one complete cycle of oscillations. One

complete cycle passes when an object travels through the same position in the same

direction.

o Frequency: The number of full cycles per second. The frequency can be calculated with

f=1T where T is the time period of the oscillation. The units of frequency are hertz (Hz).

Properties of simple harmonic oscillators

Simple Harmonic Oscillators all have the following features:

 The acceleration is directed towards a fixed point in its path (the equilibrium position)
 The acceleration is in the opposite direction to the displacement
 and is directly proportional to its distance from that fixed point

Figure 2: The acceleration of an object in SHM is directly proportional to the negative of the
displacement.
The diagram figure 3.below shows a particle rotating in a circle and another moving with

SHM. When the angle θ=0 the displacement x will be equal to the radius r. At this point the

displacement will also equal the amplitude of the oscillator.

Figure 3: Relating Circular motion and simple harmonic motion

Displacement: As the amplitude equals the radius, A=r. and so the displacement at any angle
𝛳 can be described as:
x=Acosθ

The angular displacement θ at time t is ωt or 2πft

Therefore, the displacement of the oscillator at any time is given by the following equation:
x= Acosωt

Or

Where A is the amplitude i.e. when t = T, x = A cos (2π) = A, because cos(2π) = 1. Where A
is the amplitude (i.e. maximum displacement) whereas x is the instantaneous displacement
from the equilibrium position
Velocity:
𝒅𝒙(𝒕) 𝒅
v= = [𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝛚𝐭)]
𝒅𝒕 𝒅𝒕

𝒗(𝒕) = −𝛚𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒏(𝛚𝐭)
Acceleration:
Now differentiate with respect to “t”
𝑑𝑣(𝑡) 𝑑
= [−ω𝐴𝑠𝑖𝑛(ωt)]
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑎(𝑡) = −𝜔2 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑠(ωt + ɸ)
∴ 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑠(ωt) = 𝑥(𝑡)
𝑎(𝑡) = −𝜔2 𝑥(𝑡)
∴ 𝜔 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑎(𝑡) = −(𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡) 𝑥(𝑡)
So
𝒂(𝒕) ∝ −𝒙(𝒕)

If we compared how the displacement, velocity and acceleration of a simple harmonic

oscillator varies with time. When the displacement is at its maximum, the velocity is zero,
and the acceleration is at its maximum value, in the other direction.

When the displacement is zero (when the oscillator passes through the equilibrium position)
the velocity is at its maximum and the acceleration is zero.

Figure 4: Displacement, Velocity, acceleration graph:

Graph of displacement against time:

If x=ASinwt

Figure 5

Graph of velocity against time

So, a graph of v against t has the same form but is shifted to the left

Figure 6

Graph of acceleration against time

In order to find the relation between acceleration and time we simply take the basic
equation which defines s.h.m.

and substitute for x, giving

So a graph showing how the acceleration of the body varies with time looks like
this

Figure 7
 Figure 8 : Displacement, Velocity, acceleration graph:

Energy in an Oscillator:

Energy of the simple Harmonic Oscillator:

In an ideal simple harmonic oscillator, energy is never lost therefore:

Figure 9
The potential energy in the spring is:

And at maximum displacement, the total energy of the system is equal to:

Where A is the amplitude of the oscillations. Since kinetic energy is given by:

Then:

The equation for the angular velocity of a the system, is given by the following (as derived
above):

Combining these equations we get an expression for the velocity of a mass on a spring at
various positions, x:

The energy of the system can be represented as follows, in the ideal case where no energy is
lost. Notice that the total energy remains constant throughout and that the potential energy and
kinetic energy are continuously 'replacing' each other as the mass moves up and down.
 Figure 10

Damped vibration:

Due to air resistance, the motion will slowly and gradually reduce or change in frequency,

intensity, or cease and the system rests in its equilibrium position.

Amplitude/m

Time /s

Summary: