Physics Investigatory Project

2022-23

NAME: Mihira Manoj Bhalerao

TOPIC: To study the Simple

Harmonic Motion

DATE: 10/10/2022

CLASS: 11E

ROLL NO: 11E21

Index

Sr. No. Topic

1) Acknowledgement
2) Introduction
3) Equations of SHM
4) Simple Pendulum
5) Kinematics of SHM
6) Applications of SHM
7) Bibliography
 Acknowledgement

I, Mihira Manoj Bhalerao, student of SNBP International School,

Morwadi, Pimpri, Pune; affiliated to CBSE Board vide Affiliation No.
1130522; would like to express my gratitude to the Institution for the
support and knowledge I received in the school. I feel in debt towards
Principal Sweta Paithankar Madam and my teacher Ms. Ira Maitra,
who gave me an opportunity to do the project on ‘To Study The
Simple Harmonic Motion’ . I, once again thank the school for
providing me all the facilities and excellent education. I am also
grateful to my friends and family for their faith in me.

Thank You All!

Signature of Student

Date – 10/10/2022

Signature of the Receiver

TO STUDY SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

Introduction:

When you pluck a guitar string, the resulting sound has a

steady tone and lasts a long time. The string vibrates
around an equilibrium position, and one oscillation is
completed when the string starts from the initial position,
travels to one of the extreme positions, then to the other
extreme position, and returns to its initial position. We
define periodic motion to be any motion that repeats
itself at regular time intervals, such as exhibited by the
guitar string or by a child swinging on a swing.
In mechanics and physics, simple harmonic
motion (sometimes abbreviated SHM) is a special type
of periodic motion where the restoring force on the
moving object is directly proportional to the magnitude of
the object's displacement and acts towards the object's
equilibrium position. It results in an oscillation which
continues indefinitely, if uninhibited by friction or any
other dissipation of energy.
Simple harmonic motion can serve as a mathematical
model for a variety of motions, but is typified by the
oscillation of a mass on a spring when it is subject to the
linar elastic restoring force given by Hooke's law. The
motion is sinusoidal in time and demonstrates a
single resonant frequency.
Other phenomena can be modeled by simple harmonic
motion, including the motion of a simple pendulum,
although for it to be an accurate model, the net force on
the object at the end of the pendulum must be
proportional to the displacement (and even so, it is only a
good approximation when the angle of the swing is small;
see small-angle approximation). Simple harmonic motion
can also be used to model molecular vibration as well.

What is so significant about SHM?

For one thing, the period T and frequency f of a simple

harmonic oscillator are independent of amplitude. The
string of a guitar, for example, oscillates with the same
frequency whether plucked gently or hard.

Two important factors do affect the period of a simple

harmonic oscillator. The period is related to how stiff the
system is. A very stiff object has a large force constant
(k), which causes the system to have a smaller period. For
example, you can adjust a diving board’s stiffness—the
stiffer it is, the faster it vibrates, and the shorter its
period. Period also depends on the mass of the oscillating
system. The more massive the system is, the longer the
period. For example, a heavy person on a diving board
bounces up and down more slowly than a light one. In
fact, the mass m and the force constant k are
the only factors that affect the period and frequency of
SHM. To derive an equation for the period and the
frequency, we must first define and analyze the equations
of motion. The force constant is sometimes referred to as
the spring constant.

In the diagram, a simple harmonic oscillator, consisting

of a weight attached to one end of a spring, is shown. The
other end of the spring is connected to a rigid support
such as a wall. If the system is left at rest at
the equilibrium position then there is no net force acting
on the mass. However, if the mass is displaced from the
equilibrium position, the spring exerts a
restoring elastic force that obeys Hooke's law.
Mathematically, the restoring force F is given by

where F is the restoring elastic force exerted by the spring

(in SI units: N), k is the spring constant (N·m−1), and x is
the displacement from the equilibrium position (m).
For any simple mechanical harmonic oscillator:

 When the system is displaced from its equilibrium

position, a restoring force that obeys Hooke's law
tends to restore the system to equilibrium.
Once the mass is displaced from its equilibrium position,
it experiences a net restoring force. As a result,
it accelerates and starts going back to the equilibrium
position. When the mass moves closer to the equilibrium
position, the restoring force decreases. At the equilibrium
position, the net restoring force vanishes. However, at x =
0, the mass has momentum because of the acceleration
that the restoring force has imparted. Therefore, the mass
continues past the equilibrium position, compressing the
spring. A net restoring force then slows it down until
its velocity reaches zero, whereupon it is accelerated back
to the equilibrium position again.
As long as the system has no energy loss, the mass
continues to oscillate. Thus simple harmonic motion is a
type of periodic motion. If energy is lost in the system,
then the mass exhibits damped oscillation.
If the real space and phase space plot are not co-linear,
the phase space motion becomes elliptical. The area
enclosed depends on the amplitude and the maximum
momentum.
Since the restoring force is proportional to displacement
from equilibrium, both the magnitude of the restoring
force and the acceleration is the greatest at the maximum
points of displacement. The negative sign tells us that the
force and acceleration are in the opposite direction from
displacement.
The mass's displacement, velocity, and acceleration over
time can be visualized in the graphs below
 EQUATIONS OF SHM
Consider a block attached to a spring on frictionless table.
The equilibrium position (the position where the
spring is neither stretched nor compressed) is marked
as x=0. At the equilibrium position, the net force is zero.

A block is attached to a spring and placed on a

frictionless table. The equilibrium position, where the
spring is neither extended nor compressed, is marked
as x=0
Work is done on the block to pull it out to a position
of x=+A , and it is then released from rest. The
maximum x-position (A) is called the amplitude of the
motion. The block begins to oscillate in SHM between x =
+A and x = −A, where A is the amplitude of the motion
and T is the period of the oscillation. The period is the
time for one oscillation. Figure shows the motion of the
block as it completes one and a half oscillations after
release. Figure shows a plot of the position of the block
versus time. When the position is plotted versus time, it is
clear that the data can be modeled by a cosine function
with an amplitude A and a period T. The cosine
function cosθ repeats every multiple of 2π, whereas the
motion of the block repeats every period T. However, the
function  repeats every integer multiple of the
period. The maximum of the cosine function is one, so it
is necessary to multiply the cosine function by the
amplitude A.

The angular frequency equals ω=dθ/dt. In this case, the

period is constant, so the angular frequency is defined
as 2π divided by the period,
 SIMPLE PENDULUM
The simple pendulum is another mechanical system that
moves in an oscillatory motion. It consists of a point mass
‘m’ suspended by means of light inextensible string of
length L from a fixed support. The motion occurs in a
vertical plane and is driven by a gravitational force.
The forces which are acting on the mass are shown in the
figure. The tangential component of the gravitational
force, mg sin θ, always acts towards the mean
position θ = 0 opposite to the displacement, restoring
force acting tangent to the arc.
It is interesting to note that the time period of the real
simple pendulum remains constant even if the amplitude
is changed but if the acceleration due to gravity changes
the time period of the simple pendulum also changes.
This property is also used to determine or verify
acceleration due to gravity. The time period also depends
on the length of the string to which the Bob of the simple
pendulum is attached.
The oscillation of a simple pendulum can only be
considered to be a simple harmonic motion when the
oscillation is small or the amplitude of oscillation is
very small as compared to two lengths of the string then
by using small-angle approximation the motion of a
simple pendulum is considered a simple harmonic
motion.
When the bob is displaced by some angle then the
pendulum starts the periodic motion and for small value
of angle of displacement the periodic motion is simple
harmonic motion with the angular displacement of the
bob.

For small displacement sin θ ≅ θ and

the motion of the bob is along the arc. . Hence

or
The period of motion is given by

From the above equation, it is seen that the period and

frequency of a simple pendulum depend only on the
length of the string and the value g.
Since the period is independent of the mass, a pendulum
of equal length at the same location oscillates with equal
periods. The analogy between the simple pendulum is the
mass–spring system.

KINEMATICS OF SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION

1) The Displacement Equation:

By definition, a particle is said to be in simple
harmonic motion if its displacement x from the
center point of the oscillations can be expressed this
way:

(1)
 where ν is the frequency of the oscillation and t is the
elapsed time since a time when the displacement x
was equal to A.
Example: Mass on Vertical Spring. We illustrate the
above equation with the example of an object with
mass oscillating up and down at the end of a vertical
spring, as in the figure below. The displacement x is
then the height of the object, measured from the
center point of the oscillations. This height needs to
be at its maximum value at time zero since the
equation produces x(0) = A, which is the maximum
value the displacement can have. We can assure that
this is true by measuring t on a stopwatch which we
start at a time when the object is precisely at the top
point of its motion. Alternatively, we can grab the
mass and move it up to x = A, then let it go at the
exact time we start the stopwatch.

2) Displacement Equation Parameters:

The cosine function varies between −1 and +1 so the
value of the displacement from center, x(t), varies
 between −A and +A. The maximum displacement, A,
is called the “amplitude” of the motion. Typical units
are meters.
Typical units for the frequency are cycles per second,
also called Hertz, abbreviated Hz.
The quantity 2πνt, the argument of the cosine, is
called the motion’s “phase.” Typical units are radians
and degrees. Although the phase has the units of an
angle, it does not usually correspond to a space angle
in the problem.
The time-derivative of the phase is called the “angular
frequency” and is denoted by the symbol ω:

This enables us to write Eq.(1) in a more succinct

form:

3) The Oscillator’s period:

The “period” of the oscillation is defined as the amount of
time it takes for the oscillator to go through one complete
oscillation or “cycle.” Since the cosine function repeats
itself whenever ωt is increased by 2π, it repeats itself
whenever t is increased by 2π/ω. This, then, is the period,
T, of a SHO:

The period is the inverse of the frequency; that is,

 4) Velocity and Acceleration in SHM:
The velocity and acceleration of an SHO can be easily
found by differentiating the displacement equation,
Eq.(2). The velocity is

And the acceleration is

So:
Above equation shows that an SHO’s acceleration is
proportional and opposite to its displacement. We have
plotted x, v/ω, and a/ω2 as functions of time in Fig. 2.
 5) SHM in a Scaled Phase Space:
In developing an understanding of the time-development
of SHM, it is useful to look at a plot of the oscillator’s
displacement versus its velocity. At any specific time,
displacement and velocity each have a specific value and
so determine a point on the plot of displacement vs.
velocity. As time goes on, the SHO’s displacement and
velocity change so the corresponding point on the plot
moves accordingly. Since the SHO’s displacement and
velocity are cyclical, the point on the plot traverses the
same complete closed path once every cycle.

In order to simplify the SHO’s displacement vs. velocity

trajectory, we scale the velocity-axis by a factor of 1/ω (see
Fig. 3). Then any SHO’s trajectory will be a circle of radius
A (as shown in Fig. 3). In this space, the SHO’s point is
always at the “phase” angle, δ, marked off clockwise from
the positive x-axis (see Fig. 3).
As time increases the point representing the SHO moves
around the circle of radius A with constant angular
velocity − ω (the minus sign merely means the motion is
clockwise). Its angular position at any particular time is
the phase angle at that time.

DYNAMICS OF SHM

Force is Proportional and Opposite to Displacement.

Using Newton’s second law, F = ma, and, a = −ω2x, it is
easy to find the force necessary for a particle of mass m to
oscillate with simple harmonic motion:

Note that the force on an SHO is linearly proportional to

its displacement but has the opposite sign. For a positive
displacement the force is negative, pointing back toward
the origin. For a negative displacement, the force is
positive, again pointing back toward the origin. A force
which is linear and always points back to the place where
F = 0 is called a “linear restoring force.” For simplicity we
write above equation in the form F = -kx. Where k is the
force constant or spring constant or spring stiffness for
the particular oscillator being observed.

where m is the inertial mass of the oscillating body, x is

its displacement from the equilibrium (or mean) position,
and k is a constant (the spring constant for a mass on a
spring).
Therefore,

Solving the differential equation above produces a

solution that is a sinusoidal function:
where The meaning of the constants c1 and c2 can
be easily found: setting t=0 on the equation above we see
that x(0) = c1. So c1 is the initial position of the particle;
taking the derivative of that equation and evaluating at
zero we get that x(0) = wc2. So that c2 is the initial speed
of the particle divided by the angular frequency,

Thus we can write:

This equation can also be written in the form:

Where

Or equivalently

POTENTIAL AND KINETIC ENERGY FOR

SHM

Knowing the force acting on an SHO, we can calculate its

kinetic and potential energy.
First, to obtain the potential energy we use F = −kx and
the definition of potential energy
Thus the potential energy has its minimum value, zero, at
x = 0.

The kinetic energy of the SHO is:

The kinetic energy is a maximum at x = 0 and is zero at

the extremes of the motion (x = ± A), as shown in Fig. 4.

Total Energy for SHM:

The total energy of a simple harmonic oscillator is:

which is a constant quantity (independent of time). Thus

during an oscillation, as the potential energy increases
and decreases, the kinetic energy decreases and increases
so the total energy remains constant. The potential energy
curve, Ep = kx2/2 (which is a parabola), and the total
energy curve E = kA2/2 (which is a horizontal line), are
shown as functions of displacement in Fig. 5. The points
where the line and the curve intersect (x = ± A) are the
limits of the motion.

APPLICATIONS OF SIMPLE HARMONIC

MOTION:

Some of the real-world applications of SHM are as

follows:

 Clock
 Musical Instruments
 Car Shock Absorbers
 Bungee Jumping
 Diving Board
 The Process of Hearing
 Metronome
 Earthquake-proof buildings

1. Clock
Either a pendulum or vibrating quartz maintains time in a
clock. The motion of the pendulum or quartz must be
periodic to ensure accurate time.

2. Car Shock Absorbers

Springs attached to the wheels of cars are necessary for a

smooth ride for the passengers. When the car passes
through a bump in the road, the wheels rose.
If there are no shock absorbers in the car, the whole car
will be thrown up and down, which makes it
uncomfortable for the passengers.

3. Musical Instruments

Sound is produced from the oscillations of the air. In

musical instruments like violin and guitar, bowing and
plucking of the string provides the necessary force to
make the string oscillate.

GLOSSARY
• Amplitude: maximum value of displacement.
• Angular Frequency: time rate of change of the phase.
• Angular Velocity in SHM: the angular velocity of the
SHO’s point in scaled phase space. Its value is the
negative of the SHO’s angular frequency ω.
• Displacement: position relative to the center-point of
the SHM.
• Frequency: number of complete cycles per unit time.
• Harmonic Function: a sine or cosine function.
• Oscillatory Motion: motion that exactly repeats itself
periodically.
• Period: the time for one complete cycle.
• Phase: the argument of the harmonic function
describing the SHM. Here we have chosen the initial time
to be when the displacement is at a maximum, so the
harmonic function is a cosine and its phase angle δ is ωt.
• Scaled Phase Space: a space in which the two axes
are the SHO’s displacement x and v/ω. The current state
of an SHO is a point in this space. The point continually
traverses a circle of radius A with constant angular
velocity −ω.
• Simple Harmonic Motion ≡ SHM: any motion
whose time-dependence can be described by a single
harmonic function.
• Simple Harmonic Oscillator ≡ SHO: any object
that is undergoing simple harmonic motion.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 https://www.iitjeephysics4u.com/2019/07/
dynamics-and-kinematics-of-shm-basic.html
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/
simple-harmonic-motion
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Simple_harmonic_motion
 https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/
Pendulum/Pendula.html#:~:text=A%20simple
%20pendulum%20consists%20of,and%20forth
%20with%20periodic%20motion.
 https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-
volume-1/pages/15-1-simple-harmonic-motion