Energy in

Simple
Harmonic
Motion
 “
To study the energetic components of simple
harmonic motion, we can assume that there
are no friction or friction forces (non-
conservative forces) and therefore the
mechanical energy, composed mainly of
kinetic energy and elastic potential energy,
remains constant.

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 Simple Harmonic
Motion: C rash C ourse
Physics
https://youtu. be/jxstE 6 A_
C Y Q ? si= oQ dqnarjouTmb
p e

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 Energy graphs for
simple harmonic
motion | Simple
harmonic motion
https://youtu.be/zJ tC
mpH--70

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 Kinetic energy in M.A.S.
▸ The kinetic energy in a simple harmonic motion at a point is associated
with the speed that the body has at that point
▸ R emember that the velocity in a harmonic oscillator is maximum at the
equilibrium position and at the extremes
The kinetic energy E c in a simple harmonic motion varies periodically
between a minimum value at the extremes and a maximum value at the
equilibrium position Its value can be expressed as a function of elongation x
or as a function of time t

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W here

K inetic energy, E c and its unit of measure in the S I is the J oule (J ).

Amplitude, A: M aximum elongation and its unit of measurement in the S I is the

meter (m).

Angular frequency, angular velocity or pulsation, ω: Represents the rate of

change of the phase of the movement. This is the number of periods within 2π
seconds Its unit of measurement in the is the radian per second (rad s)

Initial phase, φ It is the angle that represents the initial state of vibration, that is,
the elongation x of the body at the instant t Its unit of measurement in the
is the radian (rad)

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W here

k: C onstant of m. a. s and its unit of measurement in the S I is the N ewton per

meter (N / m).

The maximum value of kinetic energy is and the minimum value is 0 .

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 Graph of kinetic energy as a function of position

The kinetic energy in a simple

harmonic oscillator reaches its
highest (maximum) value at the
equilibrium position and its
lowest (minimum) value at the
extremes.

Graph of kinetic energy as a function of time

The kinetic energy is minimal

when the movement begins,
repeating in T / 2 intervals.

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The kinetic energy of a body is given by the expression:

The speed in simple harmonic motion is given as a function of time by the

expression:

S ubstituting the second in the first expression, we have:

O n the other hand, the speed in simple harmonic motion is given as a function of
the elongation by the expression

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S ubstituting this in the first expression, we have:

N ote that we have implicitly considered the expression for the elongation x as
a function of the cosine, since the velocity v appears as a function of the sine
That is why the expression of kinetic energy as a function of time is in the form
of a sine we had chosen the sine as the expression of the elongation x we
would arrive at an expression of the complementary kinetic energy, as a
function of the cosine In either case, when you solve a specific problem, the
results must be the same regardless of the expression you choose don't forget
the initial phase φ

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 P otential energy in M.A.S.

The restoring or elastic force is a conservative force The work done by the
conservative forces depends only on the starting and ending points, and not on the
path chosen Therefore, conservative forces give rise to potential energy In this
case, it is elastic potential energy, as the responsible force is the elastic or
recuperative force
The potential energy E p in a simple harmonic motion varies periodically between a
minimum value at the equilibrium position and a maximum value at the extremes Its
value can be expressed as a function of elongation x or as a function of time t

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W here

p: P otential E nergy and its unit of measure in the S I is the J oule (J ).

A: Amplitude and its unit of measurement in the S I is the meter (m).

ω: Angular frequency and its unit of measurement in the S I is the radian per
second (rad / s).

φ Initial phase and its unit of measurement in the S I is the radian (rad)

k: C onstant of m. a. s and its unit of measurement in the S I is the N ewton per

meter (N / m).

The maximum value of the potential energy is and the minimum

value is 0 .

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Graph of potential energy as a function of position

The potential energy in a harmonic

oscillator reaches its highest
(maximum) values at the extremes of
motion and its lowest (minimum) value
at the equilibrium position

Graph of potential energy as a function of time

The potential energy is maximum when

the movement begins, repeating in
intervals of T s
The work done by the recovery force to go from an initial point A
to another final point B is given by:

O n the other hand, we know that the elastic force is a conservative force The
work done by a conservative force can be expressed as a function of the
potential energy difference

C omparing the two previous expressions we can deduce that:

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O n the other hand, the elongation in a simple harmonic motion is determined
by

S ubstituting in the expression of the potential energy, we obtain the

expression of the potential energy in the m a s function of time

N otice that we have considered the expression for the elongation x as a

function of the cosine That is why the expression of potential energy as a
function of time is in the form of a cosine we had chosen the sine as the
expression of the elongation x we would arrive at an expression of the
complementary potential energy, as a function of the sine In either case,
when you solve a specific problem, the results must be the same
regardless of the expression you choose: don't forget the initial phase φ

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Energy in Simple
Harmonic Motion

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The mechanical energy of a harmonic oscillator at a point is the sum of the
kinetic energy and the potential energy at that point
The value of the mechanical energy E m in a simple harmonic motion remains
constant over time t and at any point x in the motion It is expressed by

F rom the previous expression, we can say that mechanical energy is directly
proportional to the amplitude A of the movement, its frequency and the mass
m of the oscillating body

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 Graph of mechanical energy versus time

The mechanical energy (green color)

in a harmonic oscillator is the sum of
the kinetic energy (red color) and its
potential energy (blue color)
This implies that the mechanical
energy is always the same
regardless of the position of the
body

Graph of Mechanical Energy versus time

The mechanical energy (green color)

is always constant in time since its
value is the algebraic sum of the
potential energy (blue color) and
the kinetic energy (red color)
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 Energy in Simple
Harmonic Motion
https://www. youtube. com/
watch? v= 0 Q hS J nksswI

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Simple pendulum
https://www.youtube.
com/watch? v=IvEKG
KvbU7k

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