Physics (PH1L001)

Simple Harmonic Motion and Damped Oscillations

Due Date: April 12, 2023

This assignment is composed of three phases, of which the third phase’s solution is
the only one required to be submitted. Nevertheless, I advise you to undertake all three
phases with the same zealous spirit and analytical precision

Phase 1
1. For a SHO, initial position and velocity are x0 and v0 . Find out the amplitude and
initial phase of the oscillator.

2. Plot the the variation of energy for a SHO and compare it with the displacement.

3. Consider a particle attached to a spring executing a motion x = Asin(ωt + δ) with

A = .18 m. At t = 0, it is at x = −0.04m and a velocity −2m/s. The total energy
is 5.6J. Find (i) δ, (ii) f the frequency, (iii) k and (iv) m.

4. A steel beam of mass M and length L is suspended at its midpoint by a cable and
executes torsional oscillations. If two masses m are now attached to either end of
the beam and this reduces the frequency by 10%, what is m/M?

5. Lennard-Jones potential between two atoms is given by:

h i
U (r) =  (σ/r)12 − (σ/r)6 (1)

Find out the oscillation frequency of the atoms in small oscillation limit.

6. A spring-mass system with natural frequency ω0 is oscillating under three different

damping conditions: a) over-damped b) critical-damped c) under-damped. Con-
sider the following statements regarding the decay of amplitude and mark true or
false

(a) The amplitude decay of critical-damped is faster than over-damped.

(b) The amplitude decay of critical-damped is slower than under-damped.

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 7. An object of mass m = 0.4 kg is hung from a spring whose spring constant is
200N m−1 . The body is subject to a resistive force given by −bv, where v is its
velocity and b = 8N m−1 s. What is the ratio of the natural angular frequency to
the angular frequency of oscillations?

8. Someone is driving a car on a road which has bumps every 20m apart. If resonant
frequency of the car is 0.5Hz, then passenger will experience violent shaking if
speed of the car is m/s.
0
9. A damped oscillator with angular frequency ω = 4.0rad/s with initial conditions
x(0) = 2.0m, v(0) = 0m/s has amplitude A1 . If the same oscillator is given velocity
v(0) = 9m/s, the amplitude is A2 . Calculate the ratio of A1 /A2 ? Assume γ to be
small to simplify the algebra.

Phase 2

10. Suppose a mass m moves horizontally on a frictionless table with an initial velocity
of v0 and strikes a spring of force constant k. Upon impact, the spring compresses,
and the mass bounces back with an equal and opposite velocity. Let’s assume that
there is no loss of energy in the system. We want to find out how long the mass is
in contact with the spring and determine the maximum compression of the spring.

11. A block of mass ‘m’ is suspended from the ceiling of a stationary standing elevator
through a spring of spring constant ‘k’. Suddenly the cable breaks and the elevator
starts falling freely. Show that the block now executes a simple harmonic motion
in the elevator. Find the amplitude.

12. A loudspeaker produces a musical sound by means of the oscillation of a diaphragm

whose amplitude is limited to 1.00µm . (a) At what frequency is the magnitude
a of the diaphragm’s acceleration equal to g? (b) For greater frequencies, is ‘a0
greater than or less than g? Take g = 10ms−2 .

13. A mass m is attached to a massless spring with a spring constant k. The mass can
slide along a frictionless plane inclined as an angle θ to the ground. Find out the
ratio of time periods for θ = 30◦ to θ = 45◦ .

14. In the realm of electrical systems, an intriguing oscillator composed of an induc-

tor, a capacitor, and a resistor exhibits a damped oscillation. When charged, the
capacitor stores energy that can be utilized when discharged (similar to potential
energy). The inductor acts as the restoring force, impeding changes in current ac-
cording to Lenz’s law. The resistor is responsible for damping. Can you formulate
the governing equation that describes the charge in the capacitor as a function of
L, C, and R? Furthermore, demonstrate that in the absence of external voltage,
the maximum charge deteriorates at an exponential rate characterized by a decay

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 constant of γ = R/L. Get ready to dive deep into the fascinating world of electrical
oscillators!

Phase 3

15. Show that the oscillation frequency of a spring-mass system with finite spring mass
M?
k
ω=
m + M/3
where symbols has usual meaning discussed in the class. [Hint: Problem is easily
solved if you write down energy conservation for whole system and displacement of
spring element is proportional to the distance from fixed end of the spring.]

16. You have been tasked with helping to design an automated system for applying a
coating. The system uses a cylindrical roller to apply a resistive paint to plastic
sheeting, which is pushed back and forth by a horizontal spring attached to a
fixed point. The roller must roll without slipping to apply the paint evenly to two
narrow strips of plastic that lay side by side. As the roller contacts one strip, a
feed mechanism pulls the other strip forward to expose unpainted surface. Your
goal is to calculate how the oscillation frequency of the roller depends on its mass,
radius, and the stiffness of the spring, in order to determine how fast the process
can proceed.

17. A colossal object perched atop a towering edifice, weighing a massive 4.00 × 105 kg,
is secured by springs. These springs can modify their force constants to dampen the
wind-driven oscillations of the building. The object mimics the building’s oscillation
frequency, taking on the driving force to prevent the entire structure from swaying.
We are tasked with finding the force constant required for the springs to match the
object’s period of oscillation at 2.0 s. Additionally, we must calculate the amount of
energy these springs store as they shift the object 0.20 meters from its rest position.
Let’s unravel the secrets of this phenomenal feat!

18. Let’s say we have a damped-driven oscillator, which is a system that vibrates in
response to external forces and loses energy due to friction. We want to know
how much power this system consumes or supplies due to damping and driving
forces. We also want to find out the frequency ωm of the driving force that supplies
the maximum average power, and the frequencies ω1/2 where the power consump-
tion is half of the maximum power consumption. Finally, explore the relationship
between the frequency of maximum power and the frequency at half maximum
power in terms of a quality factor Q, which tells us how efficient the oscillator is at
maintaining its energy.

19. Imagine an undamped-driven oscillator, where a driving force propels the system
without any energy loss due to friction. We want to investigate the phase difference

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 between the displacement of the oscillator and the driving force. Show that this
phase difference can only be one of two values - either 0 or π. The factor that
determines which of these values it takes is none other than the frequency of the
driving force relative to the natural frequency of the oscillator, ω0 .

20. Raman effect is a phenomenon in which a photon of light interacts with a molecule,
causing it to vibrate and emit a photon with a different energy level. Resonance oc-
curs when the frequency of the incident photon matches the natural frequency of the
molecule. This effect allows the identification and analysis of specific chemical com-
pounds based on their unique vibrational frequencies. Consider a diatomic molecule
whose bond energy is given by the Morse potential: V (x) = D(1−e−β(x−x0 ) )2 . Find
out the appropriate value of D if this molecule absorb red light. Given values of
−1
x0 = 1.2Å, β = 2.8Å . [This problem is more accurately solved using quantum
mechanics but you can use classical description of molecules.]

21. If an object falls freely, it eventually reaches a terminal speed vt due to the drag
force that opposes its motion. Now, imagine we suspend the same object from a
spring, subject to the same drag force, and it stretches the spring by an amount
x0 . We want to determine the frequency of oscillation of the object when it is
suspended by the spring.

22. The terminal speed of a freely falling object is vt (assume the drag force is propor-
tional to the speed of the object). When the object is suspended by a spring, while
still influenced by the same drag force, the spring stretches by an amount x0 . Find
out the frequency of oscillation of the object when it is suspended by the spring.