CAMBRIDGE A LEVEL PHYSICS

OSCILLATIONS

L E A R N I N G O U TC O M E S
NUMBER i LEARNING OUTCOME Understand the concept of oscillations and be able to distinguish between free and forced oscillations. Learn what is meant by simple harmonic motion (SHM) and analyse the displacements, velocity and acceleration for SHM. Analyse the interchange between kinetic and potential energy of a system in SHM What is damping? Understand the relatioship between forced oscillations and resonance. Learn situations when resonance is useful and when resonance should be avoided. ii

iii iv v vi

OSCILLATIONS
An oscillation is defined as a repeated back and forth motion on either side of a fixed position made by an object. Examples of objects undergoing oscillation: a swinging pendulum, a beating heart, a vibrating guitar string, etc.

T Y P E S O F O S C I L L AT I O N S
Oscillations can be divided into:
I. free oscillations:
Occur when the only force acting on the object is the restoring force. Oscillations that occur when an rigid body is given an initial disturbance and allowed to come to rest after undergoing oscillations on its own. This object will oscillate at its natural frequency. The natural frequency of a oscillating system is the frequency at which the system will oscillate when given an initial disturbance.

T Y P E S O F O S C I L L AT I O N S
II. forced oscillations
forced oscillations occur when an external driving force is used to get a damped system to continue its oscillations. The system undergoing forced oscillations will vibrate at a frequency equal to the frequency of the driving force.

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

Simple harmonic motion is defined as the motion of a particle about a fixed point such that its acceleration, a is proportional to its displacement, x from the fixed point, and is directed towards the fixed point. Its instantaneous displacement from the undisturbed position, and acceleration, can be related by the equation , where angular frequency of the object and , where = frequency of oscillations of the system, in Hz. This equation can only be solved by using differential equations.

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

A few notes about the equation : I. is directly proportional to . This implies a will be maximum when x is the largest, and a = 0 when x = 0; II. The minus sign indicates that acceleration is due to a restoring force; i.e. the acceleration and instantaneous displacement will be opposite in direction to each other.

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

Figure 10.15; Page 265, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

One possible solution for the differential equation for SHM is , where amplitude, or maximum possible displacement from undisturbed position, and = angular frequency, in rad s-1. This equation is used if timing is started (t = 0) when object is at undisturbed position. Another possible solution is . This equation is used if timing is started when object is at maximum displacement. View: http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=U7u1mLI

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

Dislacement

Image: http://clas.mq.edu.au/acoustics/waveforms/shm.gif

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

If we plot displacement, x as a function of time, t, we obtain the graph in the previous slide. We always set a direction for positive and negative displacements. At which point(s) are acceleration:
I. maximum, II. minimum?

How do we obtain the relationship between velocity and time?

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

Differentiating w.r.t , we can obtain , by also noting that . represents the maximum velocity. We can also use , where amplitude, and = instantaneous displacement.
View: http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=Ys8EMfA, http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=qxnP6K8 and http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=6Hlg5ui

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

If we look at , we see that: I. Speed is maximum when x = 0 (at undisturbed position), II. Speed is zero when , III.The indicates that velocity can be positive or negative for the same displacement because the object could be moving away or towards the undisturbed position,

EXAMPLES

Example; Page 267, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

EXAMPLES

Example; Page 267, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

EXAMPLES

Questions from Section 10.2 10.4; Page 271, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

E N E R G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S
The speed of an object undergoing SHM will is always changing w.r.t time. This means that the kinetic energy of the object is also changing w.r.t time. What happens to the kinetic energy? To understand, let us consider a mass spring system that is oscillating.

E N E R G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S
Diagram 14.13, page 445, Sears and Zemanskys University Physics, Young and Freedman, 13th edition, Pearson Education, San Francisco, 2012.

E N E R G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S
From the diagram above, when the extension of the spring is maximum (maximum elastic potential energy), the speed is zero (minimum kinetic energy). Conversely, when the extension of the spring is zero (minimum elastic potential energy), the speed of the object is maximum (maximum kinetic energy). As the displacement of the mass decreases, its kinetic energy increases, while as its displacement increases, its kinetic energy decreases.

E N E R G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S
This shows that there is an interchange between kinetic energy and stored elastic potential energy.
) Adding yields constant

This means that the total energy of a system in SHM is constant; i.e. energy is interchanged between kinetic energy and elastic potential energy.

E N E R G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S

Diagram 14.14, page 447, Sears and Zemanskys University Physics, Young and Freedman, 13th edition, Pearson Education, San Francisco, 2012.

E N E R G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S

Diagram 14.15, page 447, Sears and Zemanskys University Physics, Young and Freedman, 13th edition, Pearson Education, San Francisco, 2012.

EXAMPLES

Example from Section 10.5; Page 273, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

EXAMPLES

Example from Section 10.5; Page 273, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

EXAMPLES

Questions from Section 10.5; Page 274, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

DAMPING
So far, we have seen systems oscillating only under the action of the restoring force. What happens when there exists dissipative forces (forces that do work on the system to remove its energy)? Examples of dissipative forces: friction, air resistance. Dissipative forces reduce the amplitude of the oscillations because the total energy of the system would be lower. Damping is defined as the reduction of amplitude of oscillation.

DAMPING
So far, we have seen systems oscillating only under the action of the restoring force. What happens when there exists dissipative forces (forces that do work on the system to remove its energy)? Examples of dissipative forces: friction, air resistance. Dissipative forces reduce the amplitude of the oscillations because the total energy of the system would be lower. Please view: http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=j4FjpYm

DAMPING
Damping is defined as the reduction of amplitude of oscillation due to the action of dissipative forces on the system. The oscillations that continue after damping are known as damped oscillations. There are three degrees of damping that exist:
I. Light - damping or under - damping, II. Over - damping, and III. Critical damping.

DAMPING
Damping is said to be light if the amplitude of oscillation decreases gradually with time. The decrease in amplitude obeys an exponential envelope.

Figure 10.25; Page 275, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

DAMPING
The effects of damping can be increased to a point damping is said to be critical. Damping is said to be critical if the system returns to its equilibrium without any further oscillations over a short time period. Further increase in damping would cause the system to be overdamped. A system is overdamped if it returns to the equilibrium position without any further oscillations but over a time period longer than that required for critical damping.

DAMPING

Figure 10.26; Page 275, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

DAMPING
Examples of damped oscillating systems:

Page 275, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

DAMPING
Examples of damped oscillating systems: View http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=T6z1Uwq

Page 275, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

F O R C E D O S C I L L AT I O N S
We can use an external driving force to maintain the amplitude of the natural oscillation of a system. When we use the external driving force to cause a system to oscillate, we are causing the system to undergo forced oscillations. A system undergoing forced oscillations will oscillate at a frequency equal to the frequency of the driving force.

F O R C E D O S C I L L AT I O N S

The diagram above shows mass spring system that is set up to undergo forced oscillations.
Figure 10.28, Page 276, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

RESONANCE
If the frequency of forced oscillations is increased until the frequency of the driving force is equal / matches the natural frequency of the system, the system will undergo resonance. During resonance, maximum energy transfer occurs resulting in maximum amplitude of vibration. View: http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=eID4Gqu
Page 276, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

RESONANCE
Definition of resonance from Page 276, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

RESONANCE
The diagram on the left slide shows how the amplitude of the driven system varies as the frequency of the driving force increases. Amplitude peaks when the frequencies are matched. View: http://www.showme.com/sh/ ?h=tb6bIVU
Figure 10.29: Page 277, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

RESONANCE

Figure 10.30: Page 277, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

RESONANCE

Diagram 14.28, page 460, Sears and Zemanskys University Physics, Young and Freedman, 13th edition, Pearson Education, San Francisco, 2012.

USE F UL R ESONA NC E

Please also view: http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=ihn8AUa

From Page 278, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

UNDESIRED RESONANCE

Please also view: http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=rl2DJZY and http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=kyO1Wng

From Page 278, Chapter 10: Circular Motion and Oscillations , International A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom, 2008.

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, question 3.

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, question 3 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, question 3 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, question 3 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, question 3 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2010, Paper 42, question 2.

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2010, Paper 42, question 2 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2010, Paper 42, question 2 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2010, Paper 42, question 2 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2010, Paper 42, question 2 (contd).

EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2010, Paper 42, question 2 (contd).

HOMEWORK
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Oct/Nov 2008, Paper 4, question 3. May/June 2009, Paper 4 , question 4. Oct/Nov 2009, Paper 41, question 4. Oct/Nov 2009, Paper 42, question 3. May/June 2010, Paper 41, question 3. Oct/Nov 2010, Paper 41, question 3. Oct/Nov 2010, Paper 43, question 3. May/June 2011, Paper 41, question 3. Oct/Nov 2011, Paper 43, question 3.