Senior High School

General Physics 1
Quarter 2 – Supplementary Materials
Periodic Motion

Engr. Jeoffna Ruth C. Dasigo

Physics Teacher
 General Physics 1
Supplementary Material – Periodic Motion

What I Need to Know

Learning Competencies:
1. Relate the amplitude, frequency, angular frequency, period, displacement, velocity, and
acceleration of oscillating systems. STEM_GP12PMIIc-24
2. Recognize the necessary conditions for an object to undergo simple harmonic motion.
STEM_GP12PMIIc-25
3. Calculate the period and the frequency of spring mass, simple pendulum, and physical pendulum.
STEM_GP12PMIIc-27
4. Differentiate underdamped, overdamped, and critically damped motion. STEM_GP12PMIId-28

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Relate the amplitude, frequency, angular frequency, period, displacement, velocity, and
acceleration of oscillating systems.
2. Recognize the necessary conditions for an object to undergo simple harmonic motion.
3. Calculate the period and the frequency of spring mass, simple pendulum, and physical pendulum.
4. Differentiate underdamped, overdamped, and critically damped motion.

Lesson 1: Periodic Motion

What Is It?
Periodic motion is motion repeated in equal intervals of time. Periodic motion is performed, for
example, by a rocking chair, a bouncing ball, a vibrating tuning fork, a swing in motion, the Earth in its
orbit around the Sun, and a water wave. In each case the interval of time for a repetition, or cycle, of the
motion is called a period, while the number of periods per unit time is called the frequency. Thus, the
period of the Earth’s orbit is one year, and its frequency is one orbit per year. A tuning fork might have a
frequency of 1,000 cycles per second and a period of 1 millisecond (1 thousandth of a second).
Taking an example of a wave motion we will see some parameters related to periodic motion.
Let’s take the following figure:

Key Terms:
• The equilibrium position, otherwise known as resting position, is the position assumed by the
body when it is not vibrating.
• A restoring force is the force that tends to restore a body from its displacement to its equilibrium
position.
• The amplitude (A) of vibration is the maximum displacement of a body from its equilibrium
position.

General Physics 1 – Quarter 2 24

 • The period (T) of a body in periodic motion is the time required to make a complete to-and-fro
motion. One complete to-and-fro motion is called a cycle. Period is usually in seconds.
• Frequency (f) is the number of the cycle per unit time. Its SI unit is the hertz, abbreviated as Hz.
One (1) hertz equals one cycle per second. Frequency is the reciprocal of period.
1
𝑓=
𝑇
Sometimes, angular frequency (ω) is use instead of frequency. Angular frequency is commonly
express in radians per second. The relationship between angular frequency and frequency is given by
𝟐𝝅
𝝎 = 𝟐𝝅𝒇 𝑜𝑟 𝝎=
𝑻

What’s More
Activity 3.1.1 Crossword Puzzle
Direction: Complete the puzzle below.

ACROSS
2. It is the maximum displacement of body from its equilibrium position.
4. It is a force that tends to restore a body.
6. It refers to one complete to-and-from motion.
7. It is the number of cycles per unit of time from its equilibrium position.
8. It is the energy possessed by a body in motion.

DOWN
1. Time required to make a complete to-and-fro motion.
3. It refers to motion that is repeated at regular intervals of time.
5. It refers to the position assumed by the body when it is not vibrating.

General Physics 1 – Quarter 2 25

 Examples:

1. An oscillating body takes 0.8 seconds to complete four cycles. What is the (a)period,
(b)frequency, and (c)angular frequency of the body?

Solution:
a. We are asked to determine the time taken to complete one cycle.
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 0.8 𝑠
𝑇= = = 0.2 𝑠
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 4

b. Substituting the value of T,

1 1 5.0
𝑓= = = 𝑜𝑟 5.0 𝐻𝑧
𝑇 0.2 𝑠 𝑠
c. Now solving for the angular frequency,
𝑟𝑎𝑑
𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓 = 2(3.14 𝑟𝑎𝑑)(5.0 𝑠 −1 ) = 31.4
𝑠

What I Have Learned

Activity 3.1.2 Solve the given problem and show your solution.

1. An oscillating body takes 10 seconds to complete five cycles. What is the (a)period, (b)frequency,
and (c)angular frequency of the body?
2. An oscillating body takes 0.4 seconds to complete eight cycles. What is the (a)period,
(b)frequency, and (c)angular frequency of the body?

Lesson 2: Simple Harmonic Motion

What Is It?
Simple harmonic motion can be described as an oscillatory motion in which the acceleration of
the particle at any position is directly proportional to the displacement from the mean position. It is a
special case of oscillatory motion.
All the Simple Harmonic Motions are oscillatory and periodic but not all oscillatory motions are
SHM. Oscillatory motion is also called the harmonic motion of all the oscillatory motions wherein the
most important one is simple harmonic motion (SHM).
In this type of oscillatory motion displacement, velocity and acceleration and force vary (w.r.t
time) in a way that can be described by either sine (or) the cosine functions collectively called sinusoids.

Let us compare SHM with Periodic Motion.

Periodic Motion Simple Harmonic Motion

It is a special case of oscillation along with straight
A motion repeats itself after an equal interval of
line between the two extreme points (the path of
time. For example, uniform circular motion.
SHM is a constraint).
There is no equilibrium position. Path of the object needs to be a straight line.
There will be a restoring force directed towards
There is no restoring force.
equilibrium position (or) mean position.
Mean position in Simple harmonic motion is a
There is no stable equilibrium position.
stable equilibrium.

General Physics 1 – Quarter 2 26

What’s New?
Types of Simple Harmonic Motion

1. Linear Simple Harmonic Motion

When a particle moves to and fro about a fixed point (called equilibrium position) along with
a straight line then its motion is called linear Simple Harmonic Motion.

Conditions for Linear SHM:

The restoring force or acceleration acting on the particle should always be proportional to
the displacement of the particle and directed towards the equilibrium position.

2. Angular Simple Harmonic Motion

When a system oscillates angular long with respect to a fixed axis then its motion is called
angular simple harmonic motion.

Conditions to Execute Angular SHM:

The restoring torque (or) Angular acceleration acting on the particle should always be
proportional to the angular displacement of the particle and directed towards the equilibrium position.

What’s More?
Activity 3.2.1 Find me!
1. Look around your house and observe things that may be doing Simple Harmonic Motion.
2. Take a picture of it, then classify it: Linear SHM or Angular SHM. Explain.

Rubrics:
Originality 10 points
Creativity and Presentation 5 points
Explanation 5 points
Total: 20 points

A system that oscillates with SHM is called simple harmonic oscillator. The simplest form of a
simple harmonic oscillator is a body of mass m oscillating on one end of an elastic spring also known as
the mass-spring system.

A block attached to a spring moving on a frictionless surface.

(a) Stretched spring. When the block is displaced to the right of

equilibrium (x > 0), the force exerted by the spring acts to the left.

(b) When the block is at its equilibrium position (x = 0), the

force exerted by the spring is zero.

(c) Compressed spring. When the block is displaced to the left

of equilibrium (x < 0), the force exerted by the spring acts to the
right.

As we know, the restoring force is proportional to the magnitude of the deformation. This restoring
force can be written mathematically as
𝐹 = −𝑘𝑥
This expression for this spring-mass system is known as Hooke’s Law.

General Physics 1 – Quarter 2 27

where:
F is restoring force
x represents the magnitude of the distortion or displacement from equilibrium as exhibited in the
stretching of a spring or rubber band
k is the proportionality constant, also known as the spring constant

Note: Here the direction of the force is in the direction opposite that of the displacement, so consider
minus sign.

The force constant k is measure of the stiffness of the spring. A small value of k indicates that the
spring can be easily stretched or compressed. In other words, springs with lesser spring constants will
have greater displacements than those with larger spring constants for the same amount of force applied.

Examples:
1. A force of 3.0N elongates a spring by 6.0 cm. (a) What is the force constant of spring? (b) How
much force is needed to elongate spring an additional 6.0 cm?
Solution:
𝐹 𝑁
𝑎. 𝑘 = = (3.0 𝑁)(0.06 𝑚) = 50
𝑥 𝑚
𝑁
𝑏. 𝐹 = 𝑘𝑥 = (50 ) (0.12 𝑚) = 6.0 𝑁
𝑚

2. What is the magnitude of the force required to stretch a 20 cm-long spring, with a spring constant
of 100 N/m, to a length of 21 cm?
Solution:
The spring changes from a length of 20 cm to 21 cm, hence it stretches by 1 cm or
|Δx| = 1 cm = 0.01 m,
𝑁
𝐹 = 𝑘𝑥 = (100 ) (0.01 𝑚) = 1.0 𝑁
𝑚

What I Have Learned

Activity 3.2.2 Answer the following questions.

1. What is the necessary condition for a periodic motion to be classified as a simple harmonic
motion?
2. What is the physical meaning of the force constant of a spring?
3. When are maximum acceleration and maximum velocity achieved in a simple harmonic
oscillator?

What I Can Do
Activity 3.2.3Solve the given problems and show your solution.

1. What is the magnitude of the force required to stretch a 32 cm-long spring, with a spring constant
of 150 N/m, to a length of 41 cm?
2. What is the spring constant of a spring that needs a force of 5.2 N to be compressed from 78 cm to
65 cm?
3. A force of 4.0 N elongates a spring by 8.0 cm. (a) What is the force constant of spring? (b) How
much force is needed to elongate spring an additional 6.0 cm?

General Physics 1 – Quarter 2 28

Lesson 3: Pendulum
What Is It?
A pendulum is any object which can swing freely from a pivot point under the influence of
gravity. Pendulums are used to regulate the movement of clocks because the interval of time for each
complete oscillation, called the period, is constant.

The formula for the period T of a pendulum is

𝐿
𝑇 = 2𝜋√ Equation 3.1
𝑔
where L is the length of the pendulum and g is the acceleration due to gravity.

A simple pendulum consists of a bob suspended at the end of a thread that is so light as to be
considered massless. The period of such a device can be made longer by increasing its length, as
measured from the point of suspension to the middle of the bob. A change in the mass of the bob,
however, does not affect the period, provided the length is not thereby affected. The period, on the
other hand, is influenced by the position of the pendulum in relation to Earth. Because the strength of
Earth’s gravitational field is not uniform everywhere, a given pendulum swings faster, and thus, has a
shorter period, at low altitudes and at Earth’s poles than it does at high altitudes and at the Equator.

Based on the equation, the period of a simple pendulum is governed by the following laws.
1. The period of simple pendulum is directly proportional to square root of its length.
2. The period is inversely proportional to square root of the acceleration due to gravity.
3. The period is not dependent of the mass of the bob.
4. The period is independent of the angular amplitude if angular displacement is small, say less than
or equal to 100.

Example:
1. A simple pendulum of length 50.0 cm takes 5s to make 10 complete back-and-forth motion. (a)
Find its period. (b) What will be its period when its length is increased to 200cm?
Solution:

𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 5.0 𝑠
a. 𝑇 = = = 0.5 𝑠
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 10
b. Based on the laws governing the period of simple pendulum,
𝑇1 √𝐿1
=
𝑇2 √𝐿2
0.5 𝑠 √50.0 𝑐𝑚
=
𝑇2 √200 𝑐𝑚
𝑇2 = 1.0 𝑠

Physical Pendulum
Suppose you balance a wire coat hanger so that the hook is supported
by your extended index finger. When you give the hanger a small angular
displacement (with your other hand) and then release it, it oscillates. If a
hanging object oscillates about a fixed axis that does not pass through its
center of mass and the object cannot be approximated as a point mass, we
cannot treat the system as a simple pendulum. In this case the system is called
a physical pendulum.
The gravitational force provides a force about an axis through O,
and the magnitude of that torque is mgd sinϴ, where ϴ is as shown in
Figure 3.1 A physical
pendulum pivoted at O.

General Physics 1 – Quarter 2 29

Figure 3.1. Using the rotational form of Newton’s second law Σ𝜏=𝐼𝛼, where I is the moment of inertia
about the axis through O, we obtain
𝑑2𝜃
−𝑚𝑔𝑑 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 = 𝐼 2
𝑑𝑡
The negative sign indicates that the torque about O tends to decrease 𝜃. That is, the gravitational
force produces a restoring torque.

The period of the motion is

𝐼
𝑇 = 2𝜋√ Equation 3.2
𝑚𝑔𝐿
One can use this result to measure the moment of inertia of a flat rigid object. If the location of the center
of mass—and hence the value of d—is known, the moment of inertia can be obtained by measuring the
period. Finally, note that Equation 3.2 reduces to the period of a simple pendulum (Equation 3.1) when
𝐼=𝑚𝑑2 – that is, when all the mass is concentrated at the center of mass.

Example:
1. A 1.5kg uniform meter stick pivoted at one end oscillates as a physical pendulum with a period of
1.25s. Find its moment of inertia with respect to the pivot point.
Solution:
Manipulating equation 3.2 to solve for I and substituting values,
2 𝑚
𝑇 2 𝑚𝑔𝐿 (1.25) (1.5 𝑘𝑔) (9.8 𝑠2 ) (0.5 𝑚)
𝐼= =
4𝜋 2 4(3.14)2
𝐼 = 0.29 𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚2

2. A pendulum oscillates 40 times in 4 seconds. Find its time period and frequency.
Solution:
Time period is defined as the time required to complete one oscillation.
Frequency is defined as the number of oscillations per unit time.

𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 4𝑠
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 = = = 0.1 𝑠
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑂𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 40
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 40
𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = = = 10 𝐻𝑧
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 4𝑠
Or simple
1 1
𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = = = 10 𝐻𝑧
𝑇 0.1𝑠

What I Have Learned

Activity 3.3.1 Solve the given problems and show your solution.

1. A simple pendulum makes 10 oscillations in 20 seconds. What is the time period and frequency of
its oscillation?
2. The measured value of the length of the pendulum is 10 cm known to a 1 mm accuracy. The time
for 200 oscillations of the pendulum is found to be 100 seconds using a clock of 1 s resolution.
The percentage accuracy in the determination of ‘g’ using this pendulum is ‘x’. The value of ‘x’
to the nearest integer is.
3. A simple pendulum is found to vibrate 50 times within 200s. When 1.5m of its length is reduced
to a certain length, it vibrates 50 times in 175s. Find the original length of the pendulum.
4. A Christmas ball in a shape of a hollow sphere is hung from the tree by a piece of thread attached
to the surface of the ball. The mass and radius of the ball are 0.105kg and 0.12m, respectively.
What will be its period of oscillation when slightly displaced from its equilibrium position?
5
(Hint: 𝐼 = 𝑚𝑟 2 )
3

General Physics 1 – Quarter 2 30

What’s More

Damped Motion
1. Under Damped
The condition in which damping of an oscillator causes it to return to equilibrium with the
amplitude gradually decreasing to zero; system returns to equilibrium faster but overshoots and
crosses the equilibrium position one or more times.
2. Over Damped
The condition in which damping of an oscillator causes it to return to equilibrium without
oscillating; oscillator moves more slowly toward equilibrium than in the critically damped
system.
3. Critically Damped
The condition in which the damping of an oscillator causes it to return as quickly as
possible to its equilibrium position without oscillating back and forth about this position.

Damped Harmonic Motion

• A door shutting thanks to an under damped spring would sway in the doorway, briefly continuing
to open and close.
• Let the damping force be proportional to the mass' velocity by a proportionality constant, b, called
the vicious damping coefficient.
• The physical situation has three possible results depending on the value of a, which depends on
the value of what is under our radical.

To understand better how damping works, you may go to the link below.
Go to: https://bit.ly/3xA6AkJ

What I Can Do
Activity 3.2.2 Be creative!

Using objects at home, create a presentation (video, infographic, collage, etc.) showing the
relation between Under Damped, Over Damped, and Critically Damped motion.

Rubrics:
Originality 5 points
Creativity and Presentation 5 points
Content 10 points
Total: 20 points

References:
Byju’s | byjus.com/physics
Britannica | britannica.com/science/periodic-motion
Lumen Learning | courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-physics/chapter/periodic-motion/
Hooke's Law, Examples with solutions (problemsphysics.com)
Young, H., Freedman, R., Ford, A., & Young, H. (2012). Sears and Zemansky's University
physics. Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions.
Baltazar and Tolentino. Exploring Life Through Science General Physics 1. Teachers
Wraparound Edition. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc., 2017
Serway / Jewett. Physics for Scientists & Engineers with Modern Physics. Cengage 2014.
Hewitt, Paul. Conceptual Physics. 9th ed. Reprint, Singapore: Pearson Education, 2002
Navaza, Delia, and Bienvenido Valdes. You And The Natural World Physics. 3rd ed. Reprint,
Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc., 2010
Zitzewitz, Haase, and Harper. Physics Principles & Problems. Reprint, United States of America:
McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., 2013.

General Physics 1 – Quarter 2 31