SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

When displaced from their equilibrium position, certain

bodies experience a restoring force which causes them
to undergo back and forth (i.e. oscillatory) motion about
their equilibrium position.
An important class of such motion is the simple
harmonic motion ( SHM) defined as an oscillatory
motion in which the acceleration 𝒂 is directly
proportional to the displacement 𝒙 from the
equilibrium position and is in opposite direction to the
displacement, that is,
𝒂 = −𝝎𝟐 𝒙 -------------- ( 1)
where 𝝎𝟐 is the constant of proportionality. A
familiar example of SHM is the oscillatory motion
of a simple pendulum which consists of a mass
suspended from a string.
Generally,
𝒙 = 𝑨 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽 ------------- (2)
Satisfies equation 1, where 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽 is called
the phase and 𝜽 is the phase at time 𝒕 = 𝟎 . A is
the amplitude of the S.H.M and is equal to the
maximum displacement from the equilibrium
position.
From equation (1), we have
𝒅𝒙
𝒗 = = 𝝎𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽 = 𝝎𝑨 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟐 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽
𝒅𝒕
= 𝝎𝑨 𝟏 − 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝟐 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽
𝒙𝟐
From equation (2), 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝟐 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽 =
𝑨𝟐
𝒙𝟐
𝒗 = 𝝎𝑨 𝟏 − 𝟐 = 𝝎 𝑨𝟐 − 𝒙𝟐 ---------------(3)
𝑨
𝒗𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 𝝎𝑨 when 𝒙 = 𝟎
𝒗𝒎𝒊𝒏 = 𝟎 when 𝒙 = 𝑨
From equation (3), 𝒗 = 𝟎 at maximum displacement 𝒙 = 𝑨
𝒗 = 𝒗𝒎𝒂𝒙 at equilibrium position 𝒙 = 𝟎
From equation (1), 𝒂 = 𝟎 at equilibrium position when 𝒙 = 𝟎
𝒂 = 𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒙 at maximum displacement when 𝒙 = 𝑨

Examples
1. The maximum velocity and acceleration of a
particle executing simple harmonic motion about
𝒙 = 𝟎 are equal to 𝟑. 𝟎𝒎𝒔−𝟏 and to 𝟐𝟕𝒎𝒔−𝟐
respectively. At 𝒕 = 𝟎 the acceleration of the particle
is − 𝟐𝟕𝒎𝒔−𝟐 . Write an expression for the velocity of
the particle as a function of time.
 SOLUTION
The general expressions for displacement, velocity and acceleration
for 𝜽 ≠ 𝟎 are:
𝒙 = 𝑨 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽 𝒗 = 𝑨𝝎 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽
𝒂 = −𝑨𝝎𝟐 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽
At 𝒕 = 𝟎 the above expression reduces to
𝒙 = 𝑨 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽 𝒗 = 𝑨𝝎 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝜽 𝒂 = −𝑨𝝎𝟐 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽
At 𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒙 = − 𝝎𝟐 𝑨 = −𝟐𝟕𝒎𝒔−𝟐
At 𝒗𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 𝝎𝑨 = 𝟑
𝟏
Therefore we obtain 𝝎 = 𝟗 and 𝑨 =
𝟑
The expression for the velocity of the particle is
𝒗 = 𝟑 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝟗𝒕 + 𝜽
2. The position of a Simple Harmonic Oscillator
( SHO) as a function of time is given by:
𝟓𝝅 𝝅
𝒙 = 𝟐. 𝟒 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝒕 +
𝟒 𝟔
where 𝒕 is in seconds and 𝒙 in metres.
Find (i) the period and frequency and
(ii) the velocity and acceleration at 𝒕 = 𝟎
 SOLUTION
Now we find the expression for the velocity and acceleration and we obtain:
𝟓𝝅 𝝅
𝒗 = −𝟑𝝅 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒕 +
𝟒 𝟔
And at 𝒕 = 𝟎 we have
𝝅
𝒗 = −𝟑𝝅 𝒔𝒊𝒏 = −𝟒. 𝟕𝒎𝒔−𝟏
𝟔

The expression for the acceleration is:

𝟓𝝅 𝝅
𝒂 = −𝟑. 𝟕𝟓𝝅𝟐 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝒕 +
𝟒 𝟔

Then at 𝒕 = 𝟎 the accelerations becomes

𝝅
𝒂 = −𝟑. 𝟕𝟓𝝅𝟐 𝒄𝒐𝒔 = −𝟑. 𝟕𝟓𝝅𝟐 𝟎. 𝟖𝟔𝟔𝟎 = −𝟐𝟗. 𝟔𝒎𝒔−𝟐
𝟔
Examples of Motions that are Simple
Harmonic
A HELICAL SPRING
Consider a helical spring with a mass 𝒎
attached to one end while the other end is
fixed. When the mass is pulled down through a
distance ∆𝒙 from its equilibrium position A to a
new position B, a downward force 𝑭𝒅 required
to stretch the spring is directly proportional to
the displacement ∆𝒙, that is,
𝑭𝒅 = 𝒌∆𝒙 −−−−−−−− −(𝟏)
Equation (1) is usually referred to as Hooke’s
law. For the mass to remain stationary in
position B, an equal and opposite force must be
exerted on the mass by the spring. If the mass
is now released, the net upward force on the
mass or the restoring force is equal to 𝒌∆𝒙. By
Newton’s second law
𝒎𝒂 = −𝒌∆𝒙 −−−−−−−−− −( 𝟐)
𝒂 is the resultant acceleration of the mass. The negative
sign before 𝒌∆𝒙 in equation (2) indicates that the
restoring force and the displacement are in opposite
direction.( Force upward, displacement downward).
From equation (2)
𝒌
𝒂 = − ∆𝒙 −−−−−−− −(𝟑)
𝒎

By comparing equation (3) with the general equation of

SHM, we have
𝒂 = −𝝎𝟐 ∆𝒙
 𝟐 𝒌
We have that 𝝎 =
𝒎

𝟐𝝅 𝒎
But the period 𝑻 = = 𝟐𝝅
𝝎 𝒌

And the frequency of vibration or the number

of vibration per unit time is
𝟏 𝟏 𝒌
𝒇 = =
𝑻 𝟐𝝅 𝒎
SIMPLE PENDULUM
 Suppose a ball of mass 𝒎 suspended by a light string of
length 𝒍 is displaced through an angle 𝜽 (corresponding
to a displacement 𝒙 along a circular arc) from the
vertical.
The restoring force, 𝑭 = −𝒎𝒈𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽 −−−−−−− −(𝟏)
𝒙 𝒙
If 𝜽 is small, 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝜽 ≈ 𝜽 = ∴ 𝑭 = −𝒎𝒈
𝒍 𝒍
By applying Newton’s second law of motion to the
displaced body, we have
𝒙
𝒎𝒂 = −𝒎𝒈 −−−−−−−− −(𝟐)
𝒍
𝒈
𝒂 = − 𝒙 −−−−−−−−−−− −(𝟑)
𝒍
In equation (3), 𝒂 is proportional to the displacement 𝒙
which shows that the motion is simple harmonic in nature.
Comparing with 𝒂 = − 𝝎𝟐 𝒙, we have
𝟐 𝒈
𝝎 =
𝒍

𝟐𝝅 𝒍
But 𝑻 = ∴ 𝑻 = 𝟐𝝅
𝝎 𝒈
The corresponding frequency of the oscillation is
𝟏 𝟏 𝒈
𝒇 = =
𝑻 𝟐𝝅 𝒍
Oscillating Liquid Column of a U-tube
When a U-tube containing a fluid is slightly
displaced, the pressure causing the up and
down motion of the liquid in the tube is
𝐹 = 𝜌ℎ𝑔 ; where ℎ = 2𝑥 ℎ = 𝑦1 − 𝑦2
The force of motion of the entire fluid of mass m
Is due to this pressure. That is,
𝑚𝑎 = 𝑃 × 𝐴 = −2𝑥𝜌𝑔𝐴
There is a negative sign before the expression
because 𝑎 and 𝑥 are oppositely directed.
But 𝑚 = 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 × 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝜌2𝑙𝐴 , where 𝑙 is the
length of either column of the tube.
∴ 2𝑙𝐴𝜌𝑎 = −2𝑥𝜌𝑔𝐴
𝑔
𝑎=− 𝑥
𝑙
2
𝑎 =−𝜔 𝑥
2𝜋 𝑔
But 𝜔 = =
𝑇 𝑙
𝑙
The period , 𝑇 = 2𝜋
𝑔
 Total Energy in a Simple Harmonic
Oscillation
Let us consider a body of mass 𝒎 oscillating on the end of a
massless spring. As we have seen earlier, the restoring force
is given by
𝑭 = −𝒌𝒙 −−−−−−− −(𝟏)
The potential energy of a spring compressed or stretched by
an amount 𝒙 from equilibrium is given by
𝟏 𝟐
𝒖 𝒙 = 𝒌𝒙 −−−−−− −(𝟐)
𝟐
The total mechanical energy is therefore given by
𝟏 𝟏
𝑬 = 𝒎𝒗𝟐 + 𝒌𝒙𝟐 −−−−− −(𝟑)
𝟐 𝟐
where 𝒗 = velocity of mass at 𝒙 from the equilibrium
position.
Since there are no frictional forces in SHM, the
total energy E remains constant. As the mass
oscillates back and forth, the total energy E
continuously changes from potential energy to
kinetic energy. A potential energy diagram will
help us visualize this problem.
Energy Exchange in SHM
The horizontal line corresponds to the constant
total energy. At the maximum displacements
i.e. 𝒙 = ±𝑨, the velocity of the mass is zero,
so all the energy is potential energy and we
have
𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝑬 = 𝒎 𝟎 + 𝒌𝑨 = 𝒌𝑨𝟐 −−− −(𝟒)
𝟐 𝟐
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
We notice from equation (4) that the total energy of a simple
harmonic oscillator is proportional to the square of the
amplitude. Now at equilibrium position ( 𝒙 = 𝟎), the
potential energy is zero and the total energy is purely kinetic
energy. Therefore,
𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝑬 = 𝒎𝒗 + 𝒎 𝟎 = 𝒎𝒗𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝟐 −−− −(𝟓)
𝟐 𝟐
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
Where 𝒗𝒎𝒂𝒙 is the maximum velocity which occurs at the
equilibrium position, we have seen that
𝒌
𝒗𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 𝝎𝑨 = 𝑨 . Then equation (5) becomes
𝒎
𝟏
𝑬 = 𝒌𝑨𝟐
𝟐
At intermediate points (points between the two extremes) the total energy
is partly kinetic and partly potential. But since the total energy is conserved,
we have
𝟏 𝟐
𝟏 𝟐 𝟏 𝟐
𝑬 = 𝒎𝒗 + 𝒌𝒙 = 𝒌𝑨 −−− −(𝟔)
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
Solving equation (6) for 𝒗, we have
𝒌 𝟐
𝒗 = 𝑨 − 𝒙𝟐
𝒎

𝒌 𝒙𝟐
𝒗 =𝑨 𝟏 − 𝟐
𝒎 𝑨

𝒙𝟐
𝒗 = 𝒗𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝟏 − 𝟐 −−−−−−−−−−−− −(𝟕)
𝑨
We notice from equation (7) that the velocity is
maximum when 𝒙 is equal to zero and is equal
to zero when 𝒙 is equal to ±𝑨.
 Examples
1. A body of mass 𝟓𝟎𝒈 hangs from a long spiral
spring. The mass is pulled down 𝟏𝟎𝒄𝒎 below
its equilibrium position and released. The
period of vibration is measured as 𝟎. 𝟖𝒔. Find
(a) The velocity of the body at the equilibrium
position
(b) The maximum acceleration
(c) By how much will the spring shorten if the
body is removed?
 SOLUTION
𝒎
Using 𝑻 = 𝟐𝝅
𝒌
𝟒𝝅𝟐 𝒎 𝟒 × 𝝅𝟐 × 𝟎. 𝟎𝟓 −𝟐
∴𝒌 = = = 𝟑. 𝟎𝟖 𝒌𝒈𝒔
𝑻𝟐 𝟎. 𝟖𝟐

𝟐𝝅 𝟐𝝅 𝟎.𝟏
(a) Velocity 𝒗 = 𝒙 = = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟖𝟓𝒎𝒔−𝟏
𝑻 𝟎.𝟖
𝒌 𝟑.𝟎𝟖
(b) Acceleration 𝒂 = − 𝒙 = − 𝟎. 𝟏
𝒎 𝟎.𝟎𝟓
= −𝟔. 𝟏𝟔𝒎𝒔−𝟐
 𝑭 𝒎𝒈 𝟎.𝟎𝟓 ×𝟗.𝟖
(c) 𝑭 = 𝒌𝒙 𝒙 = = =
𝒌 𝒌 𝟑.𝟎𝟖
= 𝟎. 𝟏𝟓𝟗𝒎
2. A body is executing SHM, when the
displacement is 𝟔𝒄𝒎, the acceleration
is 𝟏𝟔𝒄𝒎𝒔−𝟐 . When the displacement is 𝟖𝒄𝒎,
the speed is 𝟏𝟐𝒄𝒎𝒔−𝟏 . Find the amplitude of
the motion.
 SOLUTION
𝒂 = 𝟏𝟔𝒄𝒎𝒔−𝟐 at 𝒙 = 𝟔𝒄𝒎
𝟐 𝟐 𝒂 𝟏𝟔
𝒂 = −𝝎 𝒙 𝝎 = = = 𝟏. 𝟔𝟑𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒔−𝟏
𝒙 𝟔
𝒙 = 𝟖𝒄𝒎 𝒙 = 𝑨 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽
𝟖
⇒ 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽 = −−−− − 𝟏
𝑨
𝒗 = 𝟏𝟐𝒄𝒎𝒔−𝟏 𝒗 = 𝝎𝑨 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽
𝟏𝟐
⇒ 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽 = −−− −— (𝟐)
𝝎𝑨
By squaring and adding equation (1) and (2)
𝟐 𝟐
𝟖 𝟏𝟐
𝟏 = +
𝑨 𝝎𝑨
𝑨 = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟖𝟕𝒄𝒎
3. A mass of 𝟐. 𝟎𝒌𝒈 attached to a spring
executes SHM with an amplitude of 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝒎.
Its kinetic energy is 𝟎. 𝟑𝟖𝟎𝑱 when its
displacement is 𝟎. 𝟎𝟕𝒎. Calculate
(i) The speed at this position
(ii) The spring constant
(iii) The total energy
(iv) The frequency of the motion.
 SOLUTION
𝒎 = 𝟐. 𝟎𝒌𝒈 𝑨 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝒎
𝟏 𝟐𝑬𝒌 𝟐 ×𝟎.𝟑𝟖𝟎
(i) 𝑬𝒌 = 𝒎𝒗𝟐 𝒗 = =
𝟐 𝒎 𝟐.𝟎
= 𝟎. 𝟔𝟏𝟔𝒎𝒔−𝟏
(ii) 𝒙 = 𝑨 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽
−𝟏
𝒙 −𝟏
𝟎. 𝟎𝟕
(𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽) = 𝒔𝒊𝒏 = 𝒔𝒊𝒏
𝑨 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟎
= 𝟑𝟓. 𝟔𝟗
 SOLUTION
𝒎 = 𝟐. 𝟎𝒌𝒈 𝑨 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝒎
𝟏 𝟐𝑬𝒌 𝟐 ×𝟎.𝟑𝟖𝟎
(i) 𝑬𝒌 = 𝒎𝒗𝟐 𝒗 = =
𝟐 𝒎 𝟐.𝟎
= 𝟎. 𝟔𝟏𝟔𝒎𝒔−𝟏
(ii) 𝒙 = 𝑨 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽
−𝟏
𝒙 −𝟏
𝟎. 𝟎𝟕
(𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽) = 𝒔𝒊𝒏 = 𝒔𝒊𝒏
𝑨 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟎
= 𝟑𝟓. 𝟔𝟗
 𝒗 = 𝑨𝝎 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽

𝒗 𝟎. 𝟔𝟏𝟔
𝝎 = =
𝑨 𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝝎𝒕 + 𝜽 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐 × 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝟑𝟓. 𝟔𝟗°
𝝎 = 𝟔. 𝟑𝟐 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒔−𝟏
𝟐 𝒌
But 𝝎 = 𝒌 = 𝒎𝝎𝟐
𝒎
𝟐
= 𝟐 𝟔. 𝟑𝟐 = 𝟕𝟗. 𝟗𝑵𝒎−𝟏
 𝟏
(iii) Elastic potential energy = 𝒌𝒙𝟐
𝟐
𝟏
= 𝟕𝟗. 𝟗 𝟎. 𝟎𝟕 𝟐 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝑱
𝟐
Total energy = 𝑬𝒌 + 𝑬𝑷
= 𝟎. 𝟑𝟖𝟎𝑱 + 𝟎. 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝑱 = 𝟎. 𝟓𝟕𝟔𝑱
𝝎 𝟔.𝟑𝟐
(iv) Frequency, 𝒇 = = = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟏𝑯𝒛
𝟐𝝅 𝟐𝝅