Simple Harmonic Motion Worksheet 3
1 A 0.46 kg mass attached to a spring undergoes simple harmonic motion with a period of 0.77 s. What is the spring
constant?
2 When a 0.50 kg mass is attached to a vertical spring, the spring stretches by 15 cm. How much mass must be attached to
the spring to result in a 0.75 s period of oscillation?
3 If a pendulum with time period 9.6 s on earth were taken onto the moon where the gravitational field strength is g/6,
answer the following:
a) (Without explicit calculation) Would the period increase, decrease or stay the same on the moon? And if there’s a
change, by what factor does it change?
b) Explicitly calculate the period and check your answer to a).
4 Weight is equal to mass times acceleration. A simple pendulum experiment is used to measure the acceleration due to
gravity on a space station.
The following data was measured:
Period (s) for 5 swings 3.1 6.6 8.0 9.6
Length (m) 1.1 1.5 1.7 1.9
Determine the acceleration due to gravity,
5 A 0.260 kg mass is attached to a vertical spring. When the mass is put into motion, its period is 1.12 s.
a) How much does the mass stretch the spring by when it is at rest in its equilibrium position?
b) Suppose this experiment is repeated on a planet with twice the acceleration from gravity than that on earth. By
what multiplicative factor does the period change?
6 A simple pendulum consists of a 25 g mass tied to the end of a light string 800 mm long. The mass is drawn to one side
until it is 20 mm above its rest position, as shown below:
When released it swings with simple harmonic motion.
a) Calculate the period of the pendulum.
b) If the initial amplitude of the oscillations is approximately 0.18 m, show that the maximum speed of the mass
during the first oscillation is about 0.63 ms-1.
c) Calculate the magnitude of the tension in the string when the mass passes through the lowest point of the first
swing.
7 The position of a mass oscillating on a spring is given by:
2π
x ( t )=(7.8 cm)cos ( t)
0.68 s
a) What is the frequency of this motion?
b) When is the mass first at the position ¿−7.8 cm ?
| Kaplan International Pathways | 1 | kaplanpathways.com
8 A mass oscillates on a spring with a period of 0.73 s and an amplitude of 5.4 cm. Write an equation giving x as a function
of time, assuming the mass starts at x = A at time t=0.
9 What is the maximum magnitude of the restoring force on a pendulum of mass 3 kg, which swings through an angle of 1
degree with a string of length 0.75 m?
10 What is the maximum speed of a body undergoing simple harmonic motion if their amplitude is 2.3 cm; period is 0.5s?
11 a) If the length of a pendulum is 2.5 m, calculate the period of the pendulum.
b) Use this to get the frequency of oscillation and the acceleration of the object on the pendulum when it’s displaced 10 cm from
equilibrium.
12 Take the pendulum given in the figure below:
a) If point A has height 0.2 m above point B (the
lowest point of the pendulum swing), calculate the speed of the mass m as it passes point B.
π
b) Given that the angle the pendulum string makes with the vertical at positions A and C is radians, use trigonometry
6
to find the length of the pendulum. (Use the 0.2 m for the height at A and C from part i)).
c) Comment on whether the small angle approximation typically used for pendulums would be appropriate in this
problem
13 Simple harmonic motion may be represented by the equation:
a=−ω 2 x
a) Explain the significance of the minus sign in this equation.
b) Copy the figure below and sketch a corresponding v-t graph to show how the phase of the velocity wave v(t) relates
to that of the acceleration a(t).
| Kaplan International Pathways | 2 | kaplanpathways.com
| Kaplan International Pathways | 3 | kaplanpathways.com
