Simple Harmonic

Motion
th
11 Grade
Science

Ahmet Unlu

Dove Science
Academy
Oklahoma City
Revised March 23, 2015

Timeline of Lesson
Three 45-minutes periods. The first 45 minutes demonstration and
introduction, second 45 minutes lecturing and slides, last 45 minutes review
classwork and homework.

Learning Objectives
Students will:

Learn about harmonic motion and periodic oscillation

Understand period, frequency and amplitude of the harmonic motion
Determine mathematically the period of oscillation of a simple
pendulum
Measure the period of oscillation of a simple pendulum
Determine the acceleration due to gravity from the period of a simple
pendulum
Students will investigate oscillation for a simple pendulum.

Introduction
It is assumed that this lab follows a chapter lesson on simple harmonic
motion. The lab will be introduced with a class discussion of the guided
questions. The development of devices to measure time, like the pendulum,
led to the analysis of periodic motion. Such motion repeats itself in equal
intervals of time (called periods) and is also referred to as harmonic motion.
When an object moves back and forth over the same path in harmonic
motion it is said to be oscillating. If the distance such an object travels in one
oscillation remains constant, it is called simple harmonic motion (SHM). A

grandfather clocks pendulum and the quartz crystal in a modern watch are
examples of SHM.

Procedure
a. Ask students what do they observe from the demonstration
b. Show a demonstration pendulum and ask students to think about the
measurable and variables?
c. Ask students what forces are acting on it?
d. Ask students is it affected by the amplitude?
e. Ask students is it affected by the mass?
f. How would the period of a simple pendulum be affected if it were
located on the moon instead of the earth?

Teaching notes
1. Teacher needs to start with explanation what is a simple harmonic motion,
simple pendulum and oscillation.
Variables to investigate include:
the mass of the ball
the length of the string
The amplitude of the ball
2. Students will investigate the effect of ball mass or the length of the
spring.
3. Students will discuss the measuring of the periodic time might lead to the
following ideas:
Measure some pendulum to calculate the average time for one
oscillation
Increase the total time measured for multiple swings.
4. The period of oscillation of a simple pendulum is T = 2(l / g) where:
T = the period for one oscillation (s)
l = the length of the string (m)
g = acceleration due to gravity (m/s-2)

Assessments:
A quick (5 min) assessment that includes questions will be put up on the
screen and the students will answer.
1. What would be the period of a pendulum
suspended from the top of a tall building on a
light string 500 m long?

2. A man enters a tall tower, needing to know

its height h. He notes that a long pendulum
extends from the roof almost to the ground
and that its period is 15.5 s. How tall is the
tower? If this pendulum is taken to the Moon,
where the free-fall acceleration is 1.67 m/s2,
what is the period of the pendulum there?

Wrap Up and Reflection

To close the lesson, we shall remind the students of linear motion and
harmonic motion that repeat upon themselves, highlighting the main
differences. They should be led to reflect on societal and environment impact
of harmonic motion and think about other examples that reflect harmonic
motion

Website for Video

https://youtu.be/IvRZA9hstYE