Oscillations and Simple Harmonic Motion
Terms and Formulae
Terms
Oscillating system
-
Any system that always experiences a force acting against the displacement of
the system (restoring force).
Restoring force
-
A force that always acts against the displacement of the system.
Periodic Motion
-
Any motion in which a system returns to its initial position at a later time.
Amplitude
-
The maximum displacement of an oscillating system.
Period
-
The time it takes for a system to complete one oscillation.
Frequency
-
The rate at which a system completes an oscillation.
Hertz
-
The unit of measurement of frequency.
Angular Frequency
-
The radian measure of frequency: frequency times
2Π
.
Simple Harmonic Motion
-
Any motion that experiences a restoring force proportional to the
displacement of the system.
Formulae
| Relation between variables of oscillation |
σ = 2Πν = 
|
| Force exerted by a spring with constant k | F = - kx |
| Differential equation describing simple harmonic motion |
 + 
x = 0
|
| Formula for the period of a mass-spring system |
T = 2Π
|
| Formula for the frequency of a mass-spring system |
ν = 
|
| Formula for the angular frequency of a mass-spring system |
σ = 
|
| Equation for the displacement in simple harmonic motion | x = x mcos(σt) |
| Equation for the velocity in simple harmonic motion | v = σx msin(σt) |
| Equation for the acceleration in simple harmonic motion | a = σ 2 x mcos(σt) |
| Equation for the potential energy of a simple harmonic system |
U = 
kx
2
|
