Chapter 11

Oscillations and Waves

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© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.
 11-1 Simple Harmonic Motion—Spring
Oscillations

If an object vibrates or
oscillates back and forth
over the same path, each
cycle taking the same
amount of time, the motion
is called periodic. The mass
and spring system is a
useful model for a periodic
system.

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 11-1 Simple Harmonic Motion—Spring
Oscillations

We assume that the surface is frictionless. There

is a point where the spring is neither stretched nor
compressed; this is the equilibrium position. We
measure displacement from that point (x = 0 on the previous
figure).
The force exerted by the spring depends on the displacement:

(11-1)

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 11-1 Simple Harmonic Motion—Spring
Oscillations

• The minus sign on the force indicates that it is a

restoring force—it is directed to restore the mass to
its equilibrium position.
• k is the spring constant
• The force is not constant, so the acceleration is not
constant either. Therefore, we can use energy only to
describe the system.

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 11-1 Simple Harmonic Motion—Spring
Oscillations
Here, we will learn about terminologies:
• Displacement is measured from the equilibrium
point
• Amplitude is the maximum displacement
• Period is the time required to complete one cycle
• Frequency is the number of cycles completed per
second

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 11-1 Simple Harmonic Motion—Spring
Oscillations

If the spring is hung

vertically, the only
change is in the
equilibrium position,
which is at the point
where the spring force
equals the
gravitational
force.

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 11-1 Simple Harmonic Motion—Spring
Oscillations

Any vibrating system where the restoring force is proportional to the negative
of the displacement is in simple harmonic motion (SHM), and is often called a
simple harmonic oscillator.

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© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.
 11-2 Energy in Simple Harmonic Motion

We already know that the potential energy of a spring is

given by:
PE = ½ kx2
The total mechanical energy is then:

(11-3)
The total mechanical energy will be conserved, as we are
assuming the system is frictionless.

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 From Chapter 6

In the image on the left, the total

mechanical energy is:
E = KE + PE = ½ mv2 + mgy

The energy buckets on the right

of the figure show how the
energy moves from all potential
to all kinetic.

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 11-2 Energy in Simple Harmonic Motion
• For a spring, and
• ,
(The energy is all potential)

• ,
(The energy is all Kinetic)

• ,
• We can calculate the total energy from the
following equations:

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 11-2 Energy in Simple Harmonic Motion
Let’s take the total energy to be ½ kA2
And we can write:
(11-4c)
This can be solved for the velocity as a
function of position:

(11-5b)
where

(11-5a)

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 11-3 The Period and Sinusoidal Nature
of SHM
• If we look at the projection onto the x axis of an
object moving in a circle of radius A at a constant
speed vmax, we find that the x component of its
velocity varies as:
(11-5b)
This is identical to SHM.
• Therefore, we can use the period and frequency of
a particle moving in a circle to find the period and
frequency:

(11-6a)

(11-6b)

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 11-3 The Period and Sinusoidal Nature
of SHM

We can similarly find the position as a function of time:

(11-8a)

(11-8b)

(11-8c)

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 11-3 The Period and Sinusoidal Nature
of SHM

The bottom curve is the

same, but shifted ¼ period
so that it is a sine function
rather than a cosine.

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 11-3 The Period and Sinusoidal Nature
of SHM

The velocity and acceleration can

be calculated as functions of
time; the results are below, and
are plotted at left.

(11-9)

(11-10)

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 From fomula sheet:

You need to memorize:

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 11-7 Wave Motion

A wave travels
along its medium,
but the individual
particles just move
up and down.
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 11-7 Wave Motion

All types of traveling waves transport energy.

Study of a single wave pulse shows that it
is begun with a vibration and transmitted
through internal forces in the medium.
Continuous waves start
with vibrations too. If the vibration is SHM,
then the wave will be sinusoidal.

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 11-7 Wave Motion

Wave characteristics:
• Amplitude, A
• Wavelength, λ
• Frequency f and period T
• Wave velocity
(11-12)

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 11-9 Energy Transported by Waves

Just as with the oscillation that starts it, the energy

transported by a wave is proportional to the square of the
amplitude.
Definition of intensity:

The intensity is also proportional to the square of the

amplitude:
(11-15)

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 11-9 Energy Transported by Waves
If a wave is able to spread out three-dimensionally from
its source, and the medium is uniform, the wave is
spherical.
Just from geometrical considerations, as long
as the power output is constant, we see:

(11-16b)

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 End

© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.

© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.