PHY210

CHAPTER 3
PERIODIC MOTION (SHM)

PREPARED BY SITI SUMAIYAH SHEIKH ABDUL AZIZ

 LESSON Periodic Motion (CLO 1,
CONTENT CLO 2, CLO3)

3.1 Simple Harmonic Motion

(amplitude, frequency, displacement,
velocity, acceleration)
 At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

Write and apply Hooke’s Law for objects moving with

simple harmonic motion.

Lesson Write and apply formulas for finding the frequency f,

Outcome
period T, velocity v, or acceleration a in terms of
displacement x or time t.

Understand the concept and know to apply formula of

energy in the Simple Harmonic Oscillator

Understand the concept of Simple Pendulum and spring

 INTRODUCTION

• A TRAMPOLINE exerts a restoring force on

Photo by Mark Tippens

the jumper that is directly proportional to the

average force required to displace the mat.
Such restoring forces provide the driving
forces necessary for objects that oscillate with
simple harmonic motion.
Example Periodic motion in daily life
 Periodic Motion
Simple periodic motion is that motion in which a body
moves back and forth over a fixed path, returning to
each position and velocity after a definite interval of
time.

1 Period, T, is the time for

f = one complete
T
oscillation. (seconds,s)
Amplitude
A Frequency, f, is the
number of complete
oscillations per second.
m Hertz (s-1)
Example 1

• The suspended mass makes 30 complete oscillations

in 15 s. What is the period and frequency of the
motion?
 Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)
Definition
An object is said to undergone SHM when:
i. The motion repeats itself at regular interval between
two unchanged positions.
ii. The displacement of the object from the origin
changes sinusoidally with time.
Example:
 Simple Harmonic Motion, SHM
Simple harmonic motion is periodic motion in the absence
of friction and produced by a restoring force that is
directly proportional to the displacement and oppositely
directed.
A restoring force, F, acts in
the direction opposite the
displacement of the
F
oscillating body.
x
F = -kx
m
 Horizontal Spring – direction of
restoring Force
(a) At equilibrium position:
• Any spring has a natural length at which it exerts no force on the mass, m

• The position of the mass at this point is called equilibrium position

10
 Horizontal Spring – direction of restoring Force

(b)
When the spring is stretched
(move to right)
+ve x

(c)
When the spring is compressed
(move to left)
-ve x

• The spring exerts a force on the mass that acts in the direction of returning the
mass to the equilibrium position, which is called as restoring force, F.
• Displacement is measured from the equilibrium point (x = 0).
11
 Horizontal Spring – Hooke’s Law
• So, the force exerted by the spring depends on the
displacement according to equation below,

Hooke’s Law

Where:
k is the spring stiffness/ spring constant
x is the displacement from its equilibrium position.

12
 Horizontal Spring – Hooke’s Law

The minus sign on the force indicates that the restoring force is
always in the direction opposite to the displacement, x.
The force is not constant, so the acceleration is not constant either.

13
Example 2
• A 0.4 kg block is attached to a horizontal spring with a spring constant of
20.0 N/m. The block is pulled to a displacement of 0.08 m from its
equilibrium position and released from rest. Determine the force exerted
by the spring when the block is at a displacement of 0.05 m from its
equilibrium position. (ans : -1.0 N)
Oscillation Horizontal Spring – The velocity of object at
different position

a) When uniform spring is initially

compress over a distance, x = -A, the
spring exert a force (F) on the mass
that pushes it toward the equilibrium
position.

b) Then, the spring is released, it passes

the equilibrium position with
considerable speed. As the mass
reaches the equilibrium position, the
F on it decreases to zero BUT its
speed at this point is a maximum,
vmax.
16
Oscillation Horizontal Spring – The velocity of object at different position

c) As the mass move farther to the right, the

force on it acts to slow it down, and it
stops momentarily at x=A.

d) Then, the spring begin moving back in

the opposite direction, accelerating until
it reach zero speed at the original starting
point, x =-A.

e) It then repeats the motion, moving back

and forth, between x = A and x= -A.

17
Horizontal Spring – comparison of direction force,
displacement, velocity and acceleration

18
Vertical Spring

If the spring is hung

vertically, the only change
is the equilibrium position,
which is at the point where
the spring force equals the
gravitational force.

 F = 0 = mg − kx 0

So,
x0 = mg
k
19
Example 3

A 4 kg mass suspended from a spring produces a

displacement of 20 cm. What is the spring constant?
 Variables in SHM
• Displacement (x) : the distance travelled by the mass (measured from the
equilibrium point)
Unit: metre (m)
• Amplitude (A): maximum displacement
Unit: metre (m)
• A cycle: a full to- and fro- motion (from x = -A to x = A) 𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓
• Period (T): time taken for one complete cycle.
𝜔
Unit: second (s) 𝑓=
2𝜋
• Frequency (f): the number of complete cycles in one second.
Unit: Hertz (Hz) or cycle s-1 or s-1 21
Variables in SHM
 Force Law in SHM
An object that undergoes SHM obeys Newton’s Second Law of Motion.

Fnet = ma

From equation, a = -2x

Substitute, Fnet = m(-2x)
= -(m2)x → Equation (i)

From equation (i), since m2 is a constant it can be deduced that

𝑭𝒏𝒆𝒕 ∝ −𝒙
𝑭𝒏𝒆𝒕 = −𝒌𝒙
where

k = proportionality constant
= mω2

Thus, it can be shown that, ⇒ 𝝎𝟐 = 𝒌 𝑘

𝒎 𝜔=
𝑚
23
Example 4
• Calculate the angular frequency of an oscillating object that is connected
to a spring with a spring constant of 45 N/m and has a mass of 25 g. What
is the frequency and period of oscillation?
Kinematics in SHM

The movement
of the spring is
traced and
produce
sinusoidal graph

25
Kinematics in SHM

26
Kinematics in SHM – Displacement of SHM

SHM with NO initial phase angle/ phase constant of ∅

• If the starting point is at equilibrium position (no phase angle, ∅ = 0
at t = 0 s), the equation can be written as

x = A sin (t )
Displacement (x)
Take Note!
A Make sure your
calculator in ‘rad’

Time (t)

-A
27
 Kinematics in SHM – Displacement of SHM

SHM with initial phase angle/ phase constant of ∅

• The motion does not start at ZERO point

The general equation for displacement as a function of time in SHM is given by,

x = A sin(.t  0 ) Eq. 1
where
A = Amplitude = Maximum displacement from the equilibrium position (m)
(t + ) = Phase of motion at any time t (rad)
28
 = Phase of motion at t = 0 s (Phase constant)
 = Angular frequency (rads-1)
 Example 5
A) Determine:

• i) amplitude
Displacement, x (m)

• ii) Period
3.0

• iii) frequency
0 Time, t (s) • iv) angular frequency
3.2 6.3 9.5 12.7

B) Write equation of
-3.0
displacement as function of
time for the given graph.
 Kinematics in SHM – Displacement of SHM

SOlution
1. An oscillator undergoes SHM described by equation,

x = 3.0 sin(0.5t)
(a) Determine the amplitude (A), angular velocity (ω), and period (T) of the
system.
(b) Draw the displacement vs time graph of the system.

Displacement, x (m)
The general equation,

𝒙 = 𝑨 𝐬𝐢𝐧(𝝎𝒕 ± ∅) 3.0

Hence,
A = 3.0 m 0 Time, t (s)
ω = 0.5 rad s-1 3.2 6.3 9.5 12.7
T = 6.3 s
-3.0
31
 Kinematics in SHM – Velocity of SHM

• The velocity of an object undergoing SHM is obtained by differentiating

displacement equation with respect to t.

dx
v=
dt
v=
d
( A sin(t +  ) ) = A d (sin(t +  ) )
dt dt

v = A cos(t +  ) Eq. 2

• The maximum velocity, vmax occurs when cos(t+)=1 hence

vmax = A
• If  = 0 , equation becomes, v = A cost
𝑘
• Also, as 𝜔 = 𝑘
𝑚
𝑣𝑚𝑎𝑥 =𝐴 S.I. unit: m s−1
𝑚
32
SHM – Relationship between velocity, v and
displacement, x.
From Eq. 1 & 2,,
v = A cos(t +  )
x = A sin (t +  )
sin (t +  ) =
x
A
From the trigonometry identical

sin 2  + cos 2  = 1 and  = (t +  )

cos(t +  ) = 1 − sin 2 (t +  )

By substituting equations (3) and (2) into equation (1), thus

2
x
v = A 1 −  
 A Hence, v = A −x 2 2

 x2 
v =  A − A  2 
2 2

A  33
Example 6

• A simple spring mass with simple harmonic motion with an

amplitude of 0.3m. The frequency of the oscillations is 5Hz.
Calculate the speed of the mass at a position of 0.1m from the
equilibrium position and the maximum speed when it reach
maximum amplitude. (ans: 8.9 m/s)
Kinematics in SHM – Acceleration of SHM
• The acceleration of an object undergoing SHM is obtained by
differentiating velocity equation with respect to t.

v = A cos(t +  )
dv
a= and
dt
a = ( A cos(t +  ) ) = A (cos(t +  ) )
d d
dt dt
a = − A 2 sin( t +  ) S.I. unit: m s−2

• If  = 0 , equation becomes, a = − A 2 sin t

• The maximum acceleration, amax given as,

𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐴𝜔2
𝑘
• Also, as 𝜔 =
𝑚

35
General equation of SHM: x, v, and a as
a function of time
For the graph shown ϕ = 0
x = A cos(t +  ),

v = − A sin(t +  )

=  A cos(t +  + ),
2
a = − A cos(t +  )
2


= − A sin(t +  +
2
).
2
Example 7

• A mass which hangs from the end of a vertical helical spring is

in SHM of amplitude 2.0 cm. If three complete oscillations
take 4.0 s, determine a) The acceleration of the mass at the
equilibrium position, b) The acceleration when the
displacement is maximum. [Answer : 0.44 ms-2]
Example 8
• A body hanging from one end of a vertical spring performs vertical SHM.
The distance between two points, at which the acceleration of the body is
maximum is 7.5 cm. If the time taken for the body to move between the
two points is 0.17 s, determine

• a) the amplitude of the motion, [Answer : 3.75×10-2 m]

• b) the frequency of the motion, [Answer : 2.94 Hz]

• c) the maximum acceleration of body in the motion. [Answer : 12.8 ms-2]

 Kinematics in SHM

Summary
Equations of Motion (SHM)
x = A sin wt Displacement of time

v = ωA cos wt Velocity of time

a = - ω2A sin ωt Acceleration of time

𝒗 = ±𝝎 𝑨𝟐 − 𝒙𝟐 velocity
a = -ω2x acceleration
39
 Kinematics in SHM

Summary
At t=0 s, x=0 m or At t=0 s, x=A m

x(t) = [A]sin(t) x(t) = [A]cos(t)

v(t) = [A]cos(t) OR v(t) = -[A]sin(t)

a(t) = -[A2]sin(t) a(t) = -[A2]cos(t)

x
x
A xmax = A A

0
t vmax = A t
0
-A amax = A2 -A 40