ENGGPHYS: FN-MODULE-1 12

OSCILLATIONS / SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

PERIODIC MOTION is defined to be any motion that repeats itself at regular time intervals,
exhibited by a strung guitar string, in springs and pendulums. Oscillation (or vibration) is
back-and-forth periodic motion.

 PERIOD AND FREQUENCY

In the absence of friction, the time to complete one oscillation remains constant
and is called the period (T). Its units are usually in seconds, but may be any convenient
unit of time. The stiffer the spring is, the smaller the period T. Frequency (f) is defined
to be the number of events per unit of time. For periodic motion, frequency is the
number of oscillations per unit time.

The relationship between period and frequency is

𝟏
𝒇=
𝑻
which means frequency is the reciprocal of the period and the period is the reciprocal
of the frequency.

The SI unit for frequency is the hertz (Hz) and is defined as one cycle per
second. A cycle is one complete oscillation.

 period = seconds/cycle
 frequency = no. of cycles/second

Example:
According to Wikipedia, Tim Ahlstrom of Oconomowoc, WI holds the record for hand
clapping. He is reported to have clapped his hands 793 times in 60 seconds.
What is the frequency and what is the period of Mr. Ahlstrom’s hand clapping during
this 60-second period?

.
𝑓= 𝑇=

𝑓= 𝑇=
𝒇 = 𝟏𝟑. 𝟐𝟏𝟕 𝑯𝒛 𝑻 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟕𝟔 𝒔 (𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒑)

Understood? Charot. UwU

 ENGGPHYS: FN-MODULE-1 13

CHARACTERISTICS OF SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

A very common type of periodic motion is called Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM).
Simple Harmonic Motion is periodic motion where the net force on the system is a restoring
force. A system that oscillates with SHM is called a Simple Harmonic Oscillator.

In simple harmonic motion, the acceleration of the system, and therefore the net force,
is proportional to the displacement and acts in the opposite direction of the displacement.

A good example of SHM is an object with mass

m attached to a spring on a frictionless surface.

The object oscillates around the equilibrium

position (x = 0), and the net force on the object is equal
to the force provided by the spring. This force obeys
Hooke’s Law, as discussed previously.
𝐹 = −𝑘𝑥
If the net force can be described by Hooke’s
Law and there is no damping (slowing down due to
friction or other nonconservative forces), then a
simple harmonic oscillator oscillates with equal
displacement on either side of the equilibrium
position.
𝑥 = −𝐴 (𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)
𝑥 = 𝐴 (𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)

The maximum displacement from equilibrium

is called amplitude (A). The units for amplitude and
displacement are the same but depend on the type of
oscillation.

Two important factors do affect the period of a simple harmonic oscillator. The period
is related to how stiff the system is. A very stiff object has a large force/spring constant (k),
which causes the system to have a smaller period. Period also depends on the mass of the
oscillating system. The more massive the system is, the longer the period.

EQUATIONS:

Formulas for angular frequency/velocity:

𝒌
𝝎=
𝒎
 ENGGPHYS: FN-MODULE-1 14

𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜, 𝝎 = 𝟐𝝅𝒇
𝟐𝝅
𝑜𝑟, 𝝎 =
𝑻

Period & Frequency with relation to spring constant k and mass m:

1
𝑖𝑓, 𝑓 =
𝑇
𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ: 𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓
𝜔
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛, 𝑓 =
2𝜋
𝑘
𝑎𝑛𝑑, 𝜔 =
𝑚

1
𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑓 = , 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒:
𝑇
𝜔 1
=
2𝜋 𝑇
𝑘
𝑚 1
=
2𝜋 𝑇
2𝜋 √𝑚
𝑇= 𝑜𝑟
√𝑘
𝒎
𝑻 = 𝟐𝝅
𝒌

𝑓 𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑇, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒:

𝟏 𝒌
𝒇=
𝟐𝝅 𝒎

where:
F = force applied, in N 𝝎 = angular velocity/frequency
a = acceleration, in m/s2 𝒇 = frequency
m = mass, in kg 𝑻 = period, in s
k = spring constant, N/m x = displacement, in m

Sample Problems:
1. A vibrating body goes through 5 complete vibrations in one second. Find the angular
frequency and the period of motion.
 ENGGPHYS: FN-MODULE-1 15

Given: f = 5 vibrations/sec
time = 1 sec

Req’d: angular frequency or velocity, ω

period, T

Solution: 𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓
𝜔 = 2𝜋(5)
𝝎 = 𝟏𝟎𝝅 /𝒔𝒆𝒄
or 𝝎 = 𝟑𝟏. 𝟒𝟏𝟔 /𝒔𝒆𝒄

𝑓= 𝑜𝑟
𝑇=
𝟏
𝑻= 𝒐𝒓 𝟎. 𝟐 𝒔𝒆𝒄 (0.2 seconds per one complete vibration)
𝟓

2. A harmonic oscillator is made using a body of mass 0.5 kg and a spring of unknown
force constant. It is found to have a period of 0.20 sec. Find the force constant of the
spring.

Given: m = 0.5 kg
T = 0.20 sec

Req’d: force/spring constant, k

Solution: 𝑇 = 2𝜋 𝑚 𝑘

.
0.20 𝑠 = 2𝜋

. .
=
. .
=
𝒌 = 𝟒𝟗𝟑. 𝟒𝟖𝟎 𝑵/𝒎

3. A harmonic oscillator has a mass of 4 kg and a spring with a force constant 100 N/m.
Find the period, frequency and angular frequency.

Given: m = 4 kg
k = 100 N/m

Req’d: a) period, T
b) frequency, f
c) angular frequency

Solution:
a) 𝑇 = 2𝜋 𝑚 𝑘

4 𝑘𝑔
𝑇 = 2𝜋 100 𝑁/𝑚
 ENGGPHYS: FN-MODULE-1 16

𝑻 = 𝟐 𝟓 𝝅 𝒔𝒆𝒄 𝒐𝒓 𝟎. 𝟒𝝅 𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝟏. 𝟐𝟓𝟕 𝒔

b) 𝑓= 1 𝑇
𝒇 = 𝟏 𝟎. 𝟒𝝅 𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔/𝒔𝒆𝒄 𝒐𝒓
𝒇 = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟗𝟔 𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔/𝒔𝒆𝒄

c) 𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑓
𝜔 = 2𝜋
.
𝝎 = 𝟓 /𝒔𝒆𝒄