Edexcel Physics A-level
Topic 13: Oscillations
Notes
This work by PMT Education is licensed under https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-edu-cc CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
13 - Oscillations
13.181 - Simple harmonic motion
An object experiencing simple harmonic motion is one which experiences a restoring force,
which acts towards the centre of equilibrium. This force is directly proportional to the object’s
distance from the equilibrium position and can be described using the equation below:
F = − kx
Where F is the restoring force, k is a constant which depends on the oscillating system and x is the distance
from the equilibrium position.
An example of a simple harmonic oscillator is the simple pendulum, as shown in the diagram
above. The pendulum oscillates around a central midpoint known as the equilibrium position.
Marked on the diagram by an x is the measure of displacement, and by an A is the amplitude of
the oscillations, this is the maximum displacement. You could also measure the time period (T) of
the oscillations by measuring the time taken by the pendulum to move from the equilibrium
position, to the maximum displacement to the left, then to the maximum displacement to the right
and back to the equilibrium position.
In a simple pendulum, the restoring force is provided by the horizontal component of gravity
acting on the pendulum bob.
There are many other examples of simple harmonic motion (SHM), all of which obey the condition
for SHM, which is the existence of the restoring force as described above.
13.182 - Simple harmonic motion calculations
The acceleration of an object experiencing simple harmonic motion is directly proportional to
displacement and is in the opposite direction. This can be shown through the equation:
a = − ω2 x
Where a is acceleration, ω is angular speed, x is displacement from the equilibrium position.
Angular speed (ω) is the angle an object moves through per unit time and can be calculated using
the following formula:
ω = 2πf
https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
Where f is the frequency.
By rearranging the above formula so that its subject is frequency, you can derive the following
formula for the time period of oscillations (T):
T = 1f = 2π
ω
Using the measurements described in the section above, you can use the following formulas with
simple harmonic oscillators:
x= Acos ωt
v = − Aωsin ωt
a = − Aω 2 cos ωt
Where A is the amplitude of oscillation, ω is angular speed, x is displacement from the equilibrium position, v
is the velocity and a is the acceleration.
13.183 - Calculating the time period
Simple harmonic systems are those which oscillate with simple harmonic motion, examples
include:
● Simple pendulum - A small, dense bob of mass m hangs from a string of length l , which is
attached to a fixed point. For this type of system, you can use the following formula:
√
l
T = 2π g
where T is time period, l is the length of the string, g is acceleration due to gravity
● Mass-spring system - There are two types of mass-spring system, where the spring is
either vertical or horizontal, the only difference between these two is the type of energy
which is transferred during oscillations.For either of these types of system you can use the
following formula:
T = 2π mk where T is time period, m is the mass, k is the spring constant
√
https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
13.184 - Displacement-time graph for an oscillating system
You can represent the displacement from the equilibrium position (x) of an oscillating object over
time by using a graph.
x= Acos ωt
By looking at the equation for displacement described earlier and also written above, you can see
that a displacement-time graph will follow a cosine or a sine curve, with a maximum A, and
minimum -A because A and ω are constants:
As velocity is the change in displacement over time, you can find the velocity of the system at a
point, by finding the gradient of the curve at that point.
13.185 - Velocity-time graph for an oscillating system
You can also represent the velocity (v) of an oscillating object over time by using a graph.
v = − Aωsin ωt
As we know that velocity is the change in displacement over time, we can draw a
velocity-time graph by using the above formula or by drawing the gradient function of the
above graph, noting that the maximum (ωA) and minimum velocity (-ωA)) occurs when x i s 0, as
expected from the above formula:
As acceleration is the change in velocity over time, you can find the acceleration of the system at
a point, by finding the gradient of the curve at that point.
https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
13.186 - Resonance
Resonance is where the amplitude of oscillations of a system drastically increases due to gaining
an increased amount of energy from the driving force. Resonance has many applications for
example:
● Instruments - An instrument such as a flute has a long tube in which air resonates,
causing a stationary sound wave to be formed.
● Radio - These are tuned so that their electric circuit resonates at the same frequency as
the desired broadcast frequency.
● Swing - If someone pushes you on a swing they are providing a driving frequency, which
can cause resonance if it’s equal to the resonant frequency and cause you to swing higher.
Resonance occurs when the driving frequency, which is the frequency of the force driving the
system, is equal to the natural frequency of the system (the natural frequency is explained in section
13.189).
13.188 - Damping and energy conservation
Alongside all the positive consequences of resonance described above, resonance can also have
negative consequences, such as causing damage to a structure, for example a bridge when the
people crossing it are providing a driving frequency close to the natural frequency, will begin to
oscillate violently which could be very dangerous and damage the bridge. Therefore damping can
be used to decrease the effect of resonance - damping is where a force acts on an oscillating
system and energy is lost from the system to its environment, leading to reduced amplitude of
oscillations.
An oscillating system cannot gain or lose energy unless there are any external forces acting on it
- this is the principle of conservation of energy.
For any simple harmonic motion system, kinetic energy is transferred to potential energy and back
as the system oscillates, the type of potential energy depends on the system.
At the amplitude of its oscillations the system will have the maximum amount of potential
energy, as it moves towards the equilibrium position, this potential energy is converted to kinetic
energy so that at the centre of its oscillations the kinetic energy is at a maximum, then as the
system moves away from the equilibrium again, the kinetic energy is transferred to potential energy
until it is at a maximum again and this process repeats for one full oscillation.
https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
In an undamped system, there are no external forces acting, therefore no energy is lost to the
environment and so the total energy of the system remains constant as shown in the diagram
below.
Image source: Saksun Young,CC BY-SA 4.0
In a damped system, there is (at least one) external force acting, therefore some energy will be
lost to the environment. For example, in a simple pendulum, air resistance acts against the motion
of the pendulum and energy is lost as heat, so over time, the energy of the system decreases.
The diagram below shows the displacement over time in a damped oscillating system.
Image source: Rice University,CC BY 4.0
13.189 - Free and forced vibrations
Free vibrations occur when no external force is continuously acting on the system, therefore the
system will oscillate at its natural frequency.
Forced vibrations are where a system experiences an external driving force which causes it to
oscillate, the frequency of this driving force, known as driving frequency, is significant.
13.190 - The effect of damping on resonance
As mentioned previously, if the driving frequency is equal to the natural frequency of a system
(also known as the resonant frequency), then resonance occurs, meaning the amplitude of forced
oscillation increases drastically.
https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
There are 3 main types of damping:
● Light damping - This is also known as under-damping and this is where the amplitude
gradually decreases by a small amount each oscillation.
● Critical damping - This reduces the amplitude to zero in the shortest possible time (without
oscillating).
● Heavy damping - This is also known as over-damping, and this is where the amplitude
reduces slower than with critical damping, but also without any additional oscillations.
Damping can be used to decrease the effect of resonance, different types of damping will have
different effects, as the degree of damping increases, the resonant frequency decreases (shifts
to left on a graph), the maximum amplitude decreases and the peak of maximum amplitude
becomes wider, these effects are shown in the graph below, where ζ is the damping ratio, ζ = 1
represents critical damping.
Image source: Geek3,CC BY 3.0
13.191 - Reducing the amplitude of oscillation
In the diagram above, you can see the effects of damping on the amplitude of oscillation of a
system: as the degree of damping increases, the amplitude decreases.
A ductile material is one which can undergo a large amount of plastic deformation before
fracturing, meaning it will be permanently deformed. The plastic deformation of a ductile material
can be used to reduce the amplitude of oscillations, this happens because energy is used to
https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
deform the material, decreasing the kinetic energy of the system and so the amplitude of
oscillations decreases.
Image source: Amgreen,CC BY-SA 3.0, Image is cropped
For example, a climbing rope is manufactured so that it will reduce the amplitude of oscillations if a
climber falls as quickly as possible (this is critical damping), meaning that they can stay safe,
while not having to bounce many times before stopping (as you would with a bungee cord). As the
climbing rope suffers plastic deformation in order to reduce the amplitude of oscillations, it cannot
be used a second time after a climber falls with it.
This is just a single example, but many ductile materials (such as metals) are used in this way, to
reduce the amplitude of oscillations.
https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
https://bit.ly/pmt-edu https://bit.ly/pmt-cc
