Department of Physics Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Physics-1 PH1010 — Tutorial 3 Solutions

Note: We will follow Taylor’s notations. mẍ + bẋ + kx = 0 is the equation for a dissipative
harmonic oscillator which is converted to 2
p ẍ + 2β ẋ + ω0 x = 0. Thus, ω0 is the natural frequency,
2
β is the ”damping constant” and ω1 = ω0 − β 2 is the frequency of the damped oscillator. For
a driven oscillator ω is the driving frequency.

Q1: Bottle in a bucket

Figure 1

The two forces on the bottle are its weight (mg) acting downward and the buoyant force acting
upward. Recall from Archimedes’ principle, that,
Buoyant force = ρg(Volume submerged) = ρg(Ad)
where ρ is the density of water and A is the cross-sectional area of the bottle. At equilibrium,
mg = ρgAd0 (1)
Now, suppose,
d = d0 + x
Now, Newton’s second law gives,
mẍ = mg − ρgA(d0 + x)

−ρgAx
ẍ = .
m
But from Eq. 1,
mg
ρgA =
d0
Therefore
 
−g
ẍ = x
d0
This is the equation for a simple harmonic motion !

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 • Therefore, we can conclude that the bottle executes simple harmonic motion with angular
frequency
r
g
ω0 = .
d0

Note that the frequency of oscillations is independent of ρ,m and A. Also, the frequency is the
same as that of a simple pendulum of length l = d0 .

• If d0 = 20cm, the period is,

s
2π d0
τ= = 2π = 0.9 sec.
ω0 g

Q2: Projectile on a Spring

Figure 2

(a) Suppose the mass is located at the point (x, y). Using Newton’s second law, we get the
equations of motion for x(t) and y(t) as,

mẍ = −kx, mÿ = −ky − mg. (2)

q
k
Defining ω0 = m, we have,

ẍ + ω02 x = 0
ÿ + ω02 y = −g
The general solution for x(t) is simply,

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 x = Ax sin (ω0 t + ϕx ) . (3)

For y(t), we first guess yp (t) = α as a particular solution. Substituting this in Eq. (2), we
get,

g
0 + ω02 α = −g ⇒ α = − .
ω02

Therefore, the general solution for y(t) is of the form,

g
y(t) = yg (t) + yp (t) = Ay sin (ω0 t + ϕy ) − . (4)
ω02

We are given the following initial conditions:

x(0) = y(0) = 0,
ẋ(0) = v0 cos θ, ẏ(0) = v0 sin θ

Thefore, we can solve for the constants Ax , Ay , ϕx and ϕy as follows.

⇒ ϕx = 0.
x(0) = Ax sin ϕx = 0
v0 cos θ
ẋ(0) = ωAx cos ϕx = v0 cos θ ⇒ Ax = .
ω0
Therefore,  
v0 cos θ
x(t) = sin ω0 t. (5)
ω0

We also have,
g g
y(0) = Ay sin ϕy − 2 = 0 ⇒ Ay sin ϕy = 2 ,
ω0 ω0
v0 sin θ
ẏ(0) = ω0 Ay cos ϕy = v0 sin θ ⇒ Ay cos ϕy = .
ω0

This gives us, s 2  2

g v0 sin θ g
Ay = + , tan ϕy = .
ω02 ω0 ω0 v0 sin θ
Therefore,
s 2  2   
g v0 sin θ −1 g g
y(t) = + sin ω0 t + tan − . (6)
ω02 ω0 ω0 v0 sin θ ω02

(b) For small ω, the solution for x(t) in Eq. (5) can be approximated to,
   
v0 cos θ v0 cos θ
x(t) = sin ω0 t ≈ (ω0 t) = v0 t cos θ. (7)
ω0 ω0

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To find the small-w approximation for y(t), we first rewrtite the solution in Eq. (4) as,
g g
y(t) = Ay sin (ω0 t + ϕy ) − = Ay (sin ω0 t cos ϕy + cos ω0 t sin ϕy ) − 2 . (8)
ω02 ω0
g
Now, we define r = ω0 v0 sin θ , so that, tan ϕy = r. Since small ω0 corresponds to r ≫ 1,
we have,
1 1 ω0 v0 sin θ r 1 ω 2 v 2 sin2 θ
cos ϕy = √ ≈ = , sin ϕy = √ ≈1− 2 =1− 0 0 2 .
r2 + 1 r g r2 + 1 2r 2g

Substituting in Eq. (8),

    
1 1 g
y(t) ≈ Ay (sin ω0 t) + (cos ω0 t) 1 − 2 − 2
r 2r ω0
2 2 ω02 v02 sin2 θ
     
ω0 v0 sin θ ω0 t g
≈ Ay (ω0 t) + 1− 1− 2
− 2
g 2 2g ω0
 2 2 2 2 2 2 
ω v0 t sin θ ω t ω v sin θ g
≈ Ay 0 +1− 0 − 0 0 2 − 2, (9)
g 2 2g ω0

where we have retained terms upto O(ω02 ). Note that,

s 2    
v0 sin θ g v0 sin θ p 2 v0 sin θ
Ay = +1= r +1≈ r
ω0 ω0 v0 sin θ ω0 ω0

Thus, combining all terms,

g ω02 v0 t sin θ ω02 t2 ω02 v02 sin2 θ

 
g
y(t) ≈ 2 +1− − 2
− 2
ω0 g 2 2g ω0
gt2 v02 sin2 θ
= v0 t sin θ − − . (10)
2 2g
Putting together Eqs. (7) and (10), we see that the trajectory reduced to normal pro-
jectile motion in the limit of “small ω0 ” . Further, we see that the small-ω0 limit really
corresponds to ω0 v0gsin θ ≫ 1, or, equivalently, ω0 ≪ v0 sin
g
θ.

For large ω0 :
We again define r = g/ω0 v0 sin θ, where, r ≪ 1 in the limit of large ω0 . Therefore,
cos ϕy = √r12 +1 ≈ 1 and sin ϕy = √rr2 +1 ≈ r.
Then,
v0 sin θ p 2 v0 sin θ
Ay = r +1≈ .
ω0 ω0
Thus, combining all terms, we have,

v0 sin θ g v0 sin θ
y(t) ≈ (sin ω0 t(1) + cos ω0 t(r)) − 2 = (sin ω0 t + r cos ω0 t − r)
ω0 ω0 ω0

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 leading to,
 
v0 sin θ
y(t) ≈ sin ω0 t
ω0

We see that the trajectory reduced to simple harmonic motion along a line. Furthermore,
g
the large-ω0 limit corresponds to r ≪ 1, or, equivalently, ω0 ≫ v0 sin θ.

(c) We want the projectile to hit the ground when it is moving straight downward, that is,
we require, y = 0 when ẋ = 0. Note that,

ẋ(t) = v0 cos θ cos ω0 t = 0 ⇒ cos ω0 t = 0, sin ω0 t = 1.

Subtituting this in the condition y(t) = 0,

g g
y(t) = Ay sin (ω0 t + ϕy ) − 2 = Ay (sin ω0 t cos ϕy + cos ω0 t sin ϕy ) − 2 = 0
ω0 ω0

we have,

g
Ay ((1) cos ϕy + (0) sin ϕy ) − =0
ω02

Substituting for Ay and cos ϕy , we have,

  
v0 sin θ p 2 1 g
r +1 √ − 2 =0
ω0 2
r +1 ω0
v0 sin θ g
⇒ − 2 =0
ω0 ω0
Hence, the desired solution is,

g
ω0 =
v0 sin θ

Q3: Overdamped Oscillator

Reclal that the equation of motion for the damped oscillator is,

ẍ + 2β ẋ + ω02 x = 0.

In the overdamped limit (β > ω0 ), the general solution is,

x(t) = c1 e−α1 t + c2 e−α2 t

where,
q q
α1 = β − β 2 − ω02 , α2 = β + β 2 − ω02 . (11)

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 From the initial conditions, x(0) = 0 and ẋ(0) = 0, we find,

c1 + c2 = x0
α1 c1 + α2 c2 = 0,
which leads to the solutions

α2 −α1
c1 = x0 c2 = x0
α2 − α1 α2 − α1
Thus the solution for the given initial conditions is of the form,
x0
α2 e−α1 t − α1 e−α2 t .
 
x(t) = (12)
α2 − α1
In order for the oscillator to cross the origin at time T , we require x(T ) = 0. From Eq. 12,
we can write,

0 = α2 e−α1 T − α1 e−α2 T ,

which leads to the following expression for T :

1 α1
T = ln < 0.
α2 − α1 α2
Since α2 > α1 > 0 (from Eq. (11)), T < 0, and no crossing of origin is possible. Rather, the
oscillator approaches the origin very slowly !

Q4: LCR Circuit

Figure 3

(a) The equation of motion for the LCR circuit

R 1
q̈ + q̇ + q=0. (13)
L LC
is similar to that of the damped mechanical oscillator, with equation of motion,

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 ẍ + 2β ẋ + ω02 x = 0 . (14)
By comparing Equations 13 and 14, we get:
1 R
ω02 −→ ; 2β −→ .
LC L
Hence, the natural (angular) frequency is

1
ω0 = √
LC
(b) The Q-factor is
r
ω0 1 L
Q= =
2β R C
(c) The equation of motion for the driven LCR circuit is,

R 1 Ed
q̈ +q̇ + q= sin ωt . (15)
L LC L
This is similar to that of the sinusoidally driven mechanical oscillator, with equation of
motion,

ẍ + 2β ẋ + ω 2 x = fd sin ωt . (16)

At late times, the homogenous part of the solution for q(t) goes to zero. Thus, the
amplitude of the charge at late times is given by the particular solution for the driven
LCR circuit :
Ed sin(ωt + ϕ) Ed C sin(ωt + ϕ)
qp (t) = 1/2
=h i1/2 .
L h
2 2

2 2 2
i
2 2 2 2 2
ω0 − ω + 4ω β (1 − ω LC) + ω R C
The amplitude A, of the charge at late times is thus given by,
Ed Ed C
A= q =q . (17)
2
ω02 − ω 2 + 4ω 2 β 2 (1 − ω 2 LC)2 + ω 2 R2 C 2


L

Figure 4: A vs ω (See Eq. (17))

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 A qualitative sketch of A as a function of the driving frequency ω is shown
q in Fig. 4. For a
2

2
given ω and β, we see that A attains its maximum value when g(ω) = ω0 − ω 2 + 4ω 2 β 2
attains its minimum value. In other words,
∂g
= 0
∂ω
2(ω02 − ω 2 )(−2ω) + 8β 2 ω
⇒ q
2 = 0
ω02 − ω 2 + ω 2 β 2
q
⇒ω = ω02 − 2β 2 . (18)

Bonus Question: In the limit of weak damping, β ≪ ω0 , the amplitude of q(t) attains
its peak value at ω ≈ ω0 . Substituting this in the expression for A in Eq. (17), we see
that the maximum value of A2 is then given by,
Ed2 Ed2 LC
A2max = = .
4L2 ω02 β 2 R2

Solving for the driving frequency when A2 = A2max /2, we get,

(ω02 − ω 2 )2 + 4ω 2 β 2 = 8ω02 β 2
⇒ (ω02 − ω 2 )2 ≈ 4ω02 β 2 (since ω ≈ ω0 )
⇒ ω02 − ω 2 ≈ 2ω0 (ω0 − ω) = ±2ω0 β
⇒ ω ≈ ω0 ± β. (19)

Thus, we see that the full width at half maximum is equal to 2β. The quality factor Q
is then essentially the ratio of this width of the amplitude function to the position of its
peak value; this ratio characterizes the sharpness of the resonance peak shown in Fig 4.
(d) The current is given by,

Ed ω cos(ωt + ϕ)
I(t) = q̇(t) = i1/2
Lh
2
ω02 − ω 2 + 4ω 2 β 2

The maximum current Imax is given as,

Ed ω
Imax = i1/2 , (20)
Lh
2
ω02 − ω2 + 4ω 2 β 2

from which the following limiting behaviours easily follow:

Ed ω
ω → 0, Imax ∼
Lω02

Ed
ω → ∞, Imax ∼
Lω

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 Figure 5: Imax vs ω (See Eq. 20)

Q5: Undamped Oscillator

Given that,

F (t) = 0 , t < 0
F (t) = (F0 )(t/T ), 0 ≤ t ≤ T
F (t) = F0 , t > T

Figure 6: F (t) vs t. F0 = 10 N and T = 10 s.

For 0 ≤ t ≤ T , the equation of motion for this driven system is

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 F0 t
ẍ + ω02 x = . (21)
T
The general solution of which can be written as

x(t) = c1 sin ω0 t + c2 cos ω0 t + xp (t)

where xp (t) is the particular solution. Let us consider xP (t) = Ct; after substituting the same
in Eq. 21, we get

F0
C=
ω02 T

From the initial conditions (x(0) = 0, ẋ(0) = 0), we find

−F0
c1 = ; c2 = 0
ω03 T

Hence,

 
F0 sin ω0 t
x(t) = 2 t−
ω0 T ω0

Now, we proceed to evaluate the amplitude of the oscillations at t > T .

At t = T, x and ẋ attain the following values:
 
F0 sin ω0 T
x(T ) = 2 T− ≡ x0
ω0 T ω0
F0
ẋ(T ) = 2 [1 − cos ω0 T ] ≡ v0
ω0 T
For t ≥ T , defined shifted time (τ ) say,

τ =t−T

For this regime, equation of motion is

ẍ + ω02 x = F0 , (22)

which can be written as

 
F0
ẍ + ω02 x− 2 =0 .
ω0
F0
For y = x − ω2
, Eq. 22 becomes

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 ÿ + ω02 y = 0

In the shifted time (τ ≥ 0), the initial conditions for y are

F0 −F0 sin ω0 T
y(0) = x(T ) − 2 = (23)
ω0 ω03 T

And,

F0
ẏ(0) ≡ v0 = [1 − cos ω0 T ] (24)
T ω02

Therefore, y(τ ) is the displacement of a simple harmonic oscillator, with initial position and
velocity as given in Eq. 22 and Eq. 23. From equations Eq. 23 and Eq. 24, we find the
amplitude of oscillations:
s
ẏ(0)2
A = y(0)2 +
ω02
 2 2 1/2
F0 sin ω0 T F02 2
= + 2 6 (1 − cos ω0 T )
T 2 ω06 T ω0
F0
= [2 − 2 cos ω0 T ]1/2
T ω03
By using the relation 2 sin2 (θ/2) = 1 − cos θ (here, θ = ω0 T ), we arrive at the final result

2F0
A= |sin (ω0 T /2)|
T ω03

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