Simple Harmonic Motion


(A. Savas ARAPOGLU)

July 30, 2017

Contents
1 Introduction 2
2 The Spring-Mass System 2
3 The Energy in SHM 5
4 The Simple Pendulum 6
5 The Physical Pendulum 8
6 The Damped Oscillations 9
7 Forced Oscillations & Resonance 12

1
1 Introduction
In this part of the course we consider a special type of motion called periodic motion ,
the repeating motion of an object in which it continues to return to a given position after
a xed time interval. The repetitive movements of such an object are called oscillations .
We will focus our attention on a special case of periodic motion called simple harmonic
motion . The universal importance of SHM is that to a good approximation many real

oscillating systems behave like simple harmonic oscillators when they undergo oscillations
of small amplitude . Consequently, the elegant mathematical description of the simple
harmonic oscillator that we will develop can be applied to a wide range of physical systems.

2 The Spring-Mass System

Oscillatory behavior, or harmonic motion, can be encountered in diversely many physical
systems; but to understand the fundamentals of this special type of motion, the prototype
system that we consider is the spring-mass system. First we will consider only the springs
obeying Hooke's Law :
F~spring = −k~x = −kxx̂ (1)

where k is the spring constant (a characteristic property of a string for its stifness) and x is
the amount of displacement from the equilibrium position x0 = 0, as shown in the gure:

Forces tending to bring the system back to the (stable) equilibrium point are called restoring
forces , and we always encounter oscillatory motion when there is a restoring force. In this

part of the course, we will analyze linear restoring forces in detail, and see how to treat
the case of non-linear restoring forces by a linear approximation.

2
 The Newton's Second Law for such a system gives

F~net = m~a, (2)

d2 x
−kxx̂ = m 2 x̂, (3)
dt
d2 x
(m + kx)x̂ = 0, (4)
dt2
and the equation of motion is
d2 x(t) k
+ x(t) = 0 (5)
dt2 m
This is one of the most important equations of physics, called Simple Harmonic Motion
Equation (SHM). Note that it is a 2nd order dierential equation. Linear restoring forces
lead to SHM. Actually it is not clear at this step that why this equation is called SHM
equation, or how it implies harmonic or periodic motion. It is the solution of this dierential
equation which leads to this naming. Solving this equation means that we should get x(t)
in terms of the given parameters of this dierential equation. The form of this dierential
equation leads us to guess the following forms of the solution:

x(t) = A cos(ωt + φ) or x(t) = A sin(ωt + φ) or x(t) = A cos(ωt) + B sin(ωt). (6)

Note that in all three solutions there are three unknown parameters: (A, ω, φ) or (A, B, ω).
But from now on just as a consensus I'll use the form x(t) = A cos(ωt + φ). If we directly
substitute this guessed solution to the Eq.(5), we get
r
k
ω= (7)
m

which is called as the angular frequency . Recall that period , T , is the time for one cycle
in a periodic/harmonic motion, and frequency , f , is the total number of cycles in a second,
and f = 1/T . From the form of the solution, if T is the period, we expect

2π
ωT = 2π ⇒ ω= = 2πf (8)
T

. This means that for the spring-mass system,

r r
m 1 k
T = 2π or f = . (9)
k 2π m
What about the other parameters A and φ?
They are determined by the so-called initial conditions ; x(0), v(0), etc. (For a second
order dierential equation we need two initial conditions to determine the exact form of the
solution.)

3
 Having determined the form of the solution x(t) which gives the displacement of the
mass from the equilibrium position as a function of time, we can determine the speed and
acceleration of the mass also as a function of time:
r
dx k
v(t) = = −ωA sin(ωt + φ) ⇒ vmax = ωA = A, (10)
dt m
d2 x k
a(t) = 2
= ω 2 A cos(ωt + φ) ⇒ amax = ω 2 A = A. (11)
dt m
Example A block of mass m making SHM along the x-axis is at the origin at t = 0 and
moving along the +x-direction. If the amplitude of the SHM is 2 cm and the frequency of
oscillations is 1.5 Hz .
(a) Find the displacement function x(t).

(b) Determine vmax and amax .

(c) Determine the total distance traveled between t = 0 and t = 1 s.

√
(d) At which instant is it at x = 3 cm?
Example A ball dropped from a height of 4.0 m makes an elastic collision with the ground.
Assuming no mechanical energy is lost due to air resistance,
(a) show that the ensuing motion is periodic, and

(b) determine the period of the motion.

(c) Is the motion simple harmonic? Explain.

4
3 The Energy in SHM
The 1-dimensional forces of the form

F~ (x) = ±f (x)x̂ (12)

are all conservative forces . Then using the relation

dU
F~ (x) ≡ x̂, (13)
dx
we can get the potential energy function for SHM:
1
F~ (x) = −kxx̂ ⇔ U (x) = kx2 , U (0) = 0. (14)
2
The total mechanical energy of a system executing SHM is (ignoring friction)

1 1 1
E = K + U = mv 2 (t) + kx2 (t) = · · · ⇒ E = kA2 : constant . (15)
2 2 2

It is also important to see an explicit example of the connection between conservation laws
and equations of motion in the spring-mass system:

d2 x
 
d 1 2 1 2 k
E = mv + kx ⇒ 2
+ x = 0. (16)
dt 2 2 dt m

Actually it is sometimes easier to get the equation of motion in this way - we will see
examples.
Example Consider a spring-mass system on a frictionless, horizontal surface; assume that
the spring does not obey the Hooke's Law but F~ (x) = −cx3 x̂ where c is a constant. The
amplitude of the oscillations is A.
(a) What is the physical dimension and the SI unit of c?

(b) Calculate the potential energy function U (x) of this spring, taking U (0) = 0.

(c) The quarter period is the time required to move from x = 0 to x = A. Calculate the

period of the oscillations in this system.

(d) If the speed of the block at the equilibrium position is v0 = 2 m/s, nd the speed of the

block when it is at x = A/2.

(e) Is this motion SH? Explain.

5
4 The Simple Pendulum
A simple pendulum is an idealized model consisting of a point mass suspended by a
massless and unstretchable string, as shown in the gure:

In order to obtain the equation of motion for this system, it is better to use quantities which
are appropriate for rotational motion; thus, instead of considering F~net = m~a, we consider
τnet = Iα with respect to the point of suspension, O. The torque with respect to point O is
called the restoring torque , and the equation of motion is, then,
d2 θ
τnet,o = Io α ⇒ −mg sin θL = mL2 2 , (17)
dt
d2 θ
 
mgL
+ sin θ = 0, (18)
dt2 mL2
and this nally becomes,
g
θ̈ + sin θ = 0 (19)
L
This equation describes a kind of harmonic motion but not SHM! But noting that the Taylor
expansion of the sin θ is
1 1
sin θ = θ − θ3 + θ5 − · · · , (20)
3! 5!
this becomes for small oscillations sin θ ≈ θ, and the Eq(19) becomes,
g
θ̈ + θ≈0 (21)
L
which is the (approximate) equation of SHM. The solution is, recalling the spring-mass
system, s
g L
θ(t) = θmax cos(ωt + φ) where ω 2 = and T = 2π . (22)
L g

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How small is really small for this approximation to be valid?

The exact expression for the period of a pendulum without any approximation is
s 
12 12 32

L 2 θmax 4 θmax
T = 2π 1 + 2 sin ( ) + 2 2 sin ( ) + ··· (23)
g 2 2 24 2

HW Derive the equation of motion of a simple pendulum from the energy conservation
equation.

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5 The Physical Pendulum
A physical pendulum is an extended object that, for small angular displacements, can
be modeled to move in simple harmonic motion about a pivot that does not go through the
center of mass, as shown in the gure:

The equation of motion for this system is, by considering τnet,o = Io α again as in the case of
simple pendulum,
mgd
θ̈ + sin θ = 0, (24)
Io
and in the small angle approximation, the equation of motion becomes
 
mgd
θ̈ + θ ≈ 0, (25)
Io
and this is now the equation of motion for SHM; in this equation Io = Icm + md2 because of
the parallel-axis theorem, and the angular frequency of the oscillations is
r
mgd
ω= . (26)
Io
Example Consider the uniform rod of (M, L), pinned
to a wall at its midpoint in the vertical plane. A
point mass of m is attached to the upper end and
a massles spring is attached to the lower end (of
the force constant k ). (For a uniform rod of (M, L)
Ikm = 121
M L2 .)
(a) Calculate the exact equation of motion for the

oscillations of the system.

(b) Calculate the approximate equation of motion

for small oscillations of the system, and calculate the

period of small oscillations.

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6 The Damped Oscillations
Almost all physical systems are aected by friction or resistive (drag) forces. These
forces tend to remove energy from the moving system and thereby slow it down (i.e. damp
the motion): Thus, there is an energy loss due to damping and such a decrease in energy in
turn leads to a decrease in amplitude.
The type of the drag force that we will consider in this section is the so-called velocity-
dependent drag force of the form F ~D = −b~v = −bvv̂ where b is a constant called the
damping parameter. This type of force is very successful in modelling many systems involving
viscous uids, such as the motion in air, in shock absorbers, etc., and the force can be
generalized experimentally as F~D = −f (v)v̂ .

When the mass is displaced from its equilibrium position there will be the restoring force
due to the spring and in addition the damping force −bvv̂ due to the uid. The resulting
equation of motion is,
F~net = m~a ⇒ ma = −kx − bv, (27)

and this becomes

d2 x
   
b dx k
+ + x = 0. (28)
dt2 m dt m
This is the equation of a damped harmonic oscillator and it is a second order dierential
equation; the damping force is linearly proportional to velocity and this linear dependence
is very convenient as it has led to an equation that we can readily solve. A damping force
proportional to, say v 2 would be much more dicult to handle. Fortunately, this linear
dependence is a good approximation for many other oscillating systems when the velocity is
small. The educated guess for the solution is of the form

x(t) = Ae−αt cos(ωt + φ), (29)

and this represents a solution decreasing in amplitude - note that you can also consider
the factors in front of the cosine function as the decreasing amplitude A(t) = Ae−αt . The

9
parameters A and φ are determined from the initial conditions and the other two parameters
are obtained by directly substituting this solution to the Eq(28):
b k b2 k
α= and ω2 = − = − α2 = ω02 − α2 . (30)
2m m 4m2 m
The ω0 is considered as the natural frequency of the oscillations.
The form of the oscillation frequency leads to the existence of dierent solutions depend-
ing on the degree of damping involved:

1. Underdamped Oscillations : ω > 0, and it exhibits oscillatory behavior, albeit with

decreasing ammplitude, and the solution is of the form x(t) = Ae−αt cos(ωt + φ).

√
2. Critically Damped Oscillations : ω = 0 ⇔ bc = 4km, and the system no longer
oscillates but returns to its equilibrium position without oscillation when it is displaced
and released, and the form of the solution is x(t) = Ae−αt cos φ.

3. Overdamped Oscillations : b > bc ⇔ ω is imaginary; again there is no oscillation,

but the system returns to equilibrium more slowly than with critical damping, and the
solution is of the form x(t) = Ae−a1 t + Bea2 t .

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 The mechanical energy is not conserved in damped oscillations, as expected. The rate of
energy loss in damped oscillations can be calculated as follow:
 
dE d 1 2 1 2
= mv + kx = v(ma + kx) = v(−bv), (31)
dt dt 2 2

and this can be written as

dE
= −bv 2 (32)
dt
The generalization of this result to other forms of the damping is

dE
= F~D · ~v (33)
dt

Obviously the energy decresaes but not at a uniform rate. (In electrical circuits, recall that,
P = i2 R; the reistance plays the role of damping parameter b.)
Example A 10.6 kg object oscillates at the end of a vertical spring that has a spring con-
stant of k = 2.05 × 104 N/m. The eect of air resistance is represented by the damping
coecient b = 3.00 N s/m.
(a) Calculate the frequency of the damped oscillation.

(b) By what percentage does the amplitude of the oscillation decrease in each cycle?

(c) Find the time interval that elapses while the energy of the system drops to 5% of its

initial value.

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7 Forced Oscillations & Resonance
A damped oscillator left to itself will eventually stop moving altogether. But we can
maintain a constant amplitude oscillation by applying a force that varies with time in a
periodic way, with a denite period and frequency. This additional force is called driving
force . A common example of a forced oscillator is a damped oscillator driven by an external

force that varies periodically, such as F (t) = F0 sin(ωt), where F0 is a constant and ω is
the angular frequency of the driving force. In general,
q the frequency ω of the driving force
is variable, whereas the natural frequency ω0 = m
k
is xed. Modeling an oscillator with
both retarding and driving forces as a particle under a net force, Newton's second law in
this situation gives
d2 x dx
m 2 + b + kx = F0 sin(ωt). (34)
dt dt
Again, the solution of this equation is rather lengthy and will not be presented, but we
will try to get it on physical arguments. After a suciently long period of time, when
the energy input per cycle from the driving force equals the amount of mechanical energy
lost (transformed to internal energy for each cycle), a steady-state condition is reached in
which the oscillations proceed with constant amplitude, and the frequency of the oscillations
is determined by the driving frequency, i.e. the solution is of the form

x(t) = A cos(ωt + φ), (35)

where
F0 /m
A= q . (36)
bω 2


(ω 2 − ω02 )2 + m

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For small damping, the amplitude is large when the frequency of the driving force is near
the natural frequency of oscillation, or when ω ≈ ω0 . The dramatic increase in amplitude
near the natural frequency is called resonance , and the natural frequency ω0 is also called
the resonance frequency of the system.
Example A 2.00 kg object attached to a spring moves without friction (b = 0) and is driven
by an external force given by the expression F (t) = 3.00 sin(2πt) where F is in newtons and
t is in seconds. The force constant of the spring is k = 20.0 N/m. Find
(a) the resonance angular frequency of the system once the steady-state is reached,

(b) the angular frequency of the driven system,

(c) the amplitude of the motion.

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Problem A particle of mass m slides without friction inside a hemispherical bowl of radius
R. Show that if the particle starts from rest with a small displacement from equilibrium,
it moves in simple harmonic motion with an angular frequency equal to that of a simple
pendulum of length R.

Problem A large block P attached to a light spring

executes horizontal, simple harmonic motion as it
slides across a frictionless surface with a frequency
f . Block B rests on it as shown in the gure, and
the coecient of static friction between the two is
µs . What maximum amplitude of oscillation can the
system have if block B is not to slip?

Problem A block of mass m is connected to two

springs of force constants k1 and k2 in two ways as
shown in the gure. In both cases, the block moves
on a frictionless table after it is displaced from the
equilibrium and released. Show that in both cases
the block makes SHM; and calculate the period of
oscillations.

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