Simple Harmonic Motion Worksheet

Class: 6B Phys

*Please attempt all questions.

The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they while their
companions slept, were toiling upward in the night. – H.W Longfellow

1. The pistons of a racing car engine each have a mass of 550 g and can be
assumed to move with SHM of amplitude 105 mm. If the engine is
designed to have a maximum piston speed of 125 ms-1, calculate

(a) The maximum number of revolutions per minute of the engine.

[1.14 x 104rev/min ]
v max=ωA
v max
=ω
A
125
ω=
0.105
ω=1190 rad / s

2π
rad /s=1 rev/min
60
rad
1190 = y rev /min
s

2π
y =1190
60
1190 ×60
y=
2π
y=1.14 rev/min

(b) The maximum acceleration of a piston [1.49 x 105ms-2 ]

2
a max=−ω A
2
a max=−1190 × 0.105
5 −2
a max=1.49 ×10 m s

(c) The force exerted on the piston to produce this acceleration

[8.19 x 104N ]
F=ma
5
F=0.55 ×1.49 ×10
F=8.19 ×10 4
(d) The piston speed when it is 40 mm from the middle of its stroke
[116ms-1 ]
v=ω √ A 2−x 2
v=1190 √ 0.105 −0.04
2 2

−1
v=116 m s

2. The displacement (x), in centimeters, of a body executing SHM is

represented by the equation
 x=4.5 sinπt , where (t) is the time in seconds after the body passes through
the midpoint of the motion.
(a) Find the amplitude and period of the motion [0.045m, 2.0 s]
4.5
A=
100
A=0.045 m

2π
T=
ω
ω=π

2π
T=
π
T =2.0 s

(b) The displacement, velocity and acceleration of the body when t = 0.1 s
[0.014m, 0.13ms-1 , 0.14ms-2 ]

x= Asin( ωt)
x=0.045 × sin ( 0.1 π )
x=0.014 m

v=ωAcos (ωt )
v=0.045 π × cos ( 0.1 π )
−1
v=0.13 m s

a=−ω 2 x
2
a=−π × 0.014
a=0.14 m s−2

3. An electric sewing machine needle performs oscillations of amplitude 15

mm and frequency 5 Hz. The material being stitched is positioned 7 mm
above the lowest position reached by the needle point. Calculate:

(a) The maximum velocity and acceleration of the needle point

[0.47m/s, 15ms-2 ]

ω=2 πf
ω=2 π × 5
ω=10 π

v max=ωA
v max=10 π ×0.015
v max=0.47 m s−1

2
a max=−ω A
2
a max=−10 π ×0.015
−1
a max=15 m s

(b) the velocity of the needle point as it punctures the cloth [0.40m/s]

v=ω √ A −x
2 2
 v=10 π √ 0.015 −0.00 8
2 2

v=10 π × 0.127
−1
v=0.40 m s
4. A punch-bag of mass 0.60 kg is struck so that it oscillates with SHM.  The
oscillation has a frequency of 2.6 Hz and amplitude of 0.45 m.  What is?
(a) The maximum velocity of the bag; [7.52m/s]
ω=2 πf
ω=16.3

v max=ωA
v max=16.3 × 0.45
v max=7. 35
(b) The maximum kinetic energy of the bag? [17 J]
2
mv
KE=
2
0.6 ×7.522
KE=
2
KE=17 J
(c) What happens to the energy as the oscillations die away?
The kinetic energy is lost to air resistance as well as friction

5. Calculate the gain in potential energy when a mass of 150 g is raised

through 1.0 mm

-A simple pendulum consists of a light inextensible string to which is

attached a bob of mass 150 g. The variation of V p the potential energy,
with x, the horizontal displacement of the bob, is shown in fig 3.1.
In order to set the pendulum into oscillation, the bob is displaced
sideways (keeping the string taut) until its centre of mass is raised
vertically through 1.0 mm and then released. Using data from fig. 3.1,
sketch labeled graphs to show the variation, as the pendulum oscillates,
of x with

(i) the total energy[15x10-4J]

(ii) the
(iii) kinetic energy

- By reference to fig 3.1, or otherwise, write down the amplitude of

oscillation of the pendulum
6. A light helical spring has spring constant k. One end of the spring is
attached to a fixed point and the spring is allowed to hang vertically with
a mass M attached to its free end. The mass is displaced and released.
The frequency of the motion is given by

√
1 k
f = 2π M
(a) State two conditions which must be satisfied before the subsequent
motion may be considered simple harmonic.

In order to try to reduce vibrations form an electric motor, it is isolated

form the floor by four identical rubber pads as shown in fig. 3.1. One pad
is placed at each corner.

With the motor switched off, the pads are compressed and then released.
The subsequent vertical oscillations have frequency 10 Hz.

- Sketch a labeled graph to show how the amplitude of vertical

oscillations will vary with frequency of rotation of the motor when its
speed of rotation is slowly increased form a low value t0 25 Hz.
- Describe and explain how your graph above will change, if at all, when
the motor is supported with a further four identical rubber pads which
are placed at each corner, so that the thickness of each composite pad
is doubled.

7. A mass of 0.100 kg oscillates with simple harmonic motion of amplitude

0.0030 m and period 0.020 s.

(i) Find the frequency of the oscillation

(ii) Find ω , the angular frequency of the oscillation
(iii) Write down the equation representing the variation with time,
t, of the displacement, x, for this oscillation
(iv) A graph of velocity against displacement for this oscillation is
shown below.
 -Read from the graph the maximum value of the velocity
-Explain why there are two values of velocity for zero displacement
-Explain why there are two values of displacement form zero
velocity.
-Calculate the maximum kinetic energy of the mass
-Sketch on fig. 2.2 a graph of the kinetic energy of the mass
against displacement

8. A block of wood of mass m floats in still water, as shown in fig. 2.1

When the block is pushed down in the water, without totally submerging
it, and is then released, it bobs up and down in the water with a
frequency f given by the expression.

f=
√
1 28
2π m
where f is measured in Hz and m in kg.

Surface water waves of speed 0.90 m/s and wavelength 0.30 m are then
incident on the block. These cause resonance in the up and down motion
of the block.
(a) What is meant by the term resonance

(b) Calculate (i) the frequency of the water waves

(ii) the mass of the block
 (c) Describe and explain what happens to the amplitude of the
` vertical oscillations of the block after the following changes
are made independently

(i) water waves of larger amplitude are incident on the block

(ii) the distance between the wave crest increases
(iii) the block has absorbed some water

9. The mass of an astronaut in an orbiting space station cannot be

measured by using a normal balance. However, the mass can be
measured by monitoring the oscillations of the astronaut when seated in
a chair supported by a spring. The period of the oscillation T is given by
the expression

T=2
π
√ M
k where M is the total mass of the chair and
the astronaut, and k is the spring constant

For a particular chair, of mass 6.3 kg, the spring to which it is attached
has a spring constant of 1540 N/m

(i) Calculate the period of oscillation when an astronaut of mass

73.2 kg sits in the chair.
(ii) Calculate the percentage change in the period of oscillation after
the mass of the astronaut increased by 0.5 kg during the meal

10. Fig. 2.1 illustrates a mass which can be made to vibrate vertically
between two springs.

The vibrator itself has constant amplitude. As the frequency is varied, the
amplitude of vibration of the mass is seen to change as shown below.

(a) Name the phenomenon which is illustrated above

(b) For the mass vibrating at maximum amplitude. Calculate

1. the angular frequency

 2. the period
(c) A light piece of card is fixed to the mass with its plane
horizontal. On the diagram above, draw a line to show the
variation with frequency of the amplitude of vibration of the
mass.

11. The figure below shows how the velocity of a 2 kg mass was found to vary during an
investigation of a simple pendulum.

Using information from the graph, estimate:

(a) The mass’s greatest velocity
(b) The greatest kinetic energy
(c) Its greatest potential energy
(d) Its greatest acceleration
(e) The greatest restoring force that acted on it [0.37, 0.137, 0.137, 1.86, 3.72]

12. The figure below shows how the displacement of an oscillating mass changes with time

Use the graph to deduce the following quantities

(a) The velocity at t = 0 s

(b) The maximum velocity
(c) The acceleration when t = 1 s

13. A body of mass 0.10 kg hangs from a long spiral spring. When pulled down 10 cm below its
equilibrium position P and released, it vibrates with SHM with a period of 2.0 s.
(a) What is its velocity as it passes through P?
(b) What is its acceleration when it is 5.0 cm above P?
(c) When it is moving upwards, how long a time is taken for it to move from a point 5.0 cm below P
to a point 5.0 cm above?
(d) What are the maximum and minimum values of its kinetic energy, and at what points of the
motion do they occur?
(e) What is the total energy of the system and does it vary with time?
[31 cm/s, 50 cm/s2, 0.33 s, 5 x 10-3 J, 5 x 10-3 J]