Chapter:14 Oscillations

Periodic Motion
A motion which repeats itself identically after a fixed or at regular intervals of
time is known as periodic motion.

For example:
1. The to and fro movement of pendulum,
2. jumping on a trampoline,
3. a child swinging on a swing,
4. orbital motion of the earth around the sun,
5. motion of arms of a clock,
6. motion of a simple pendulum etc.

Pic: To and fro motion of pendulum Pic: Child on a swing

Pic: Kids jumping on the trampoline

Oscillatory Motion
A periodic motion taking place to and fro or back and forth about a fixed point,
is called oscillatory motion i.e. If a body moves back and forth repeatedly about
its mean position then it is said to be in oscillatory motion.

For e.g.
1. motion of a simple pendulum,
2. motion of a loaded spring etc.
Note: Every oscillatory motion is periodic motion but every periodic motion is
not oscillatory motion.
Oscillations can be defined as Periodic to and fro motion which repeat itself at
regular intervals of time. In oscillations, the frequency of vibrations is
comparatively less.
For example: The to and fro motion of a pendulum clock
Vibrations are defined as movement of object about its mean position and this
motion can be linear, circular, periodic or non-periodic.
If vibrations frequency is more an external force acts on a body.
For eg: - Vibration of guitar string. When we move our fingers on the strings of
guitar the strings vibrate so rapidly, we can’t make it out when it comes to its
mean position and when it goes to extreme position because the frequency is
very high as a result it has vibratory motion.

Vibrations of the guitar strings

Oscillatory motion and Periodic Motion

Every oscillatory motion is periodic motion that is every oscillatory motion

repeats itself after the fixed interval of time. But every periodic motion is not
oscillatory.
For e.g.:- Motion of planets around the sun is periodic but is not oscillatory
motion.
Equilibrium Position

1. Oscillating bodies comes to rest at their equilibrium positions. When a

bob is suspended from a rigid support it goes to extreme positions
and then comes to its mean position which is also known as
equilibrium position.
 2. Equilibrium Position is that position where an object tends to come at
rest when no external force is applied.

To and fro motion of the pendulum oscillating from its mean position B to its
either extreme positions A and C respectively.

Harmonic Oscillation
The oscillation which can be expressed in terms of single harmonic function,
i.e., sine or cosine function, is called harmonic oscillation.

y = a sin ωt
or y = a cos ωt

where y = displacement of body from mean position at any time t.

a = maximum displacement or amplitude of displacement of the body.
ω = angular frequency (= 2 π ν ) =(2 π / T )
ν, T = frequency (no. of oscillation per sec) and time period of harmonic
oscillation. (ν = 1/T)
Simple Harmonic Motion
A harmonic oscillation of constant amplitude and of single frequency under a
restoring force whose magnitude is proportional to the displacement and always
acts towards mean Position is called Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM).
Simple harmonic motion is the motion in which the restoring force is
proportional to displacement from the mean position and opposes its
increase .
Restoring Force Displacement
F x
F=–kx

Where ‘k’ is force constant. Known as force law for SHM.

 i .e. A particle is said to move in SHM, if its acceleration is proportional to
the displacement and is always directed towards the mean position.
• Conditions of Simple Harmonic Motion

For SHM is to occur, three conditions must be satisfied.

(i) Acceleration (a)/ Force always acts towards the mean position.
(ii) Acceleration (a) is proportional to the displacement and opposite
in direction of motion. a = -ω 2y
(iii) Is represented by harmonic functions of sine and cosine.

A simple harmonic oscillation can be expressed as:

y = a sin ωt
or y = a cos ωt

Where a = amplitude of oscillation.

Non-harmonic Oscillation
A non-harmonic oscillation is a combination of two or more than two harmonic oscillations. It
can be expressed as:
y = a sin ωt + b sin 2ωt

Some Terms Related to SHM

(i) Time Period: Time taken by the body to complete one oscillation is known as time
period. It is denoted by T.
(ii) Frequency: The number of oscillations completed by the body in one second is
called frequency. It is denoted by ν. Its SI unit is ‘hertz’ or ‘second-1‘. Frequency = 1 /
Time period
(iii) Angular Frequency: The product of frequency with factor 2π is called angular
frequency. It is denoted by ω.
Angular frequency (ω) = 2πv.
Its SI unit is ‘hertz’ or ‘second-1‘.
(iv) Displacement: A physical quantity which changes uniformly with time in a periodic
motion. is called displacement. It is denoted by y.
(v) Amplitude: The maximum displacement in any direction from mean position is
called amplitude. It is denoted by a.
(vi) Phase: A physical quantity which expresses the position and direction of motion of
an oscillating particle, is called phase. It is denoted by φ.

Simple harmonic motion is defined as the projection of a uniform circular motion on any
diameter of a circle of reference.

Some Important Formulae of SHM

(i) Displacement in SHM at any instant is given by

y = a sin ωt

or y = a cos ωt

where a = amplitude and

ω = angular frequency.

(ii) Velocity of a particle executing SHM at any instant is given by

v = ω √(a2 – y2)

At mean position y = 0 and v is maximum

vmax = aω
At extreme position y = a and v is zero.
v=0

(iii) Acceleration of a particle executing SHM at any instant is given by

A or α = – ω2 y
Negative sign indicates that the direction of acceleration is opposite to the direction in which
displacement increases, i.e., towards mean position.
At mean position y = 0 and acceleration is also zero.
At extreme position y = a and acceleration is maximum

Amax = – aω2

(iv) Time period in SHM is given by

T = 2π √Displacement / Acceleration = 2π √a/y
or T= 2π √l/g (in case of simple pendulum)

Graphical Representation

(i) Displacement – Time Graph

(ii) Velocity – Time Graph

(iii) Acceleration – Time Graph

Note: The acceleration is maximum at a place where the velocity is minimum and vice – versa.
For a particle executing SHM. the phase difference between
(i) Instantaneous displacement and instantaneous velocity= (π / 2) rad
(ii) Instantaneous velocity and instantaneous acceleration= (π / 2) rad
(iii) Instantaneous acceleration and instantaneous displacement= π rad
The graph between velocity and displacement for a particle executing SHM is elliptical.

Force in SHM
We know that, the acceleration of body in SHM is α = -ω2 y
Applying the equation of motion F = ma,

We have, F = – mω2 y = -ky

Where, ω = √k / m and k = mω2 is a constant and sometimes it is called the elastic constant.
In SHM, the force is proportional and opposite to the displacement.

Energy in SHM
The kinetic energy of the particle is K = 1 / 2 mω2 (A2 – y2)
From this expression we can see that, the kinetic energy is maximum at the centre (y = 0) and
zero at the extremes of oscillation (y ± A).

The potential energy of the particle is U = 1 / 2 mω2 y2

From this expression we can see that, the potential energy has a minimum value at the centre (y=
0) and increases as the particle approaches either extreme of the oscillation (y ± A).

Total energy can be obtained by adding potential and kinetic energies. Therefore,

E=K+U
E = 1 / 2 mω2 (A2 – y2) + 1 / 2 mω2 y2
E= 1 / 2 mω2 A2
E = 2π2mv2 A2

where A = amplitude
m = mass of particle executing SHM.
ω = angular frequency and
v = frequency
Changes of kinetic and potential energies during oscillations.
The frequency of kinetic energy or potential energy of a particle executing SHM is double than
that of the frequency in SHM.

The frequency of total energy of particles executing SHM is zero as total energy in SHM remains
constant at all positions.

When a particle of mass m executes SHM with a constant angular frequency (I), then time period
of oscillation

T = 2π √Inertia factor / Spring factor

In general, inertia factor = m, (mass of the particle)

Spring factor = k (force constant)

Variation in different physical quantities (e.g., displacement, velocity, acceleration, kinetic

energy etc.) with time or displacement are listed ahead in tabular form.
Energy of a Simple Harmonic Oscillator

Consider our example of a spring. When the spring is stretched or compressed

a large amount (i.e. the block on the spring has a large magnitude for x), there
is a great deal of energy stored in those springs. As the spring relaxes and
accelerates the block this potential energy gets converted to kinetic energy.
Shown below are three positions of the oscillating spring, and the energies
associated with each position. Figure %:

An oscillating block a) at equilibrium with only kinetic energy b) at maximum

displacement with only potential energy c) partially displaced with both potential
and kinetic energy. Note that the total energy in each case is kxm2.

Simple Pendulum
A simple pendulum consists of a heavy point mass suspended from a rigid support by means of
an elastic inextensible string having time period of 2 second. The effective length of a second’s
pendulum is 99.992 m of approximately 1 metre on earth.

F = −mg sinθ.
F= -mgθ
ma = -mgθ
a = -gθ ( θ= arc/ radius ➔θ = x/l) { a= - gx/l = -ω2x} { ω2= a/x or g/l }
a α -x
The time period of the simple pendulum is given by :
T= 2π/ω = 2π / √g/l
T = 2π √l / g

where l = effective length of the pendulum and g = acceleration due to gravity.

The three main types of simple harmonic motion in physics are:

• Free Oscillation
• Forced Oscillation
• Damped Oscillations

Free Oscillation
In here, the amplitude and time period remain constant without any influence of external factors.
When the system has zero damping, the amplitude remains constant provided, this theory is
possible in cases where damping always occurs.
In order to overcome external forces like air resistance or friction, the reduction in amplitude
(energy loss of a system) is referred to as damping. As a result, the amplitude, frequency, and
energy all remain constant.
Forced Oscillation
When an external periodic force influences a body’s oscillation, then it is called forced oscillation.
Here, damping occurs in the amplitude of oscillation but remains constant with the help of the
external energy supplied by the system.
For example, constantly pushing a swing so that its oscillation doesn’t reduce.
Damped Oscillation
The reduction of the amplitude of an object with respect to time, such type of oscillations are
known as damped oscillations. The energy of a system decreases with the decrease in amplitude.
There are two types of damping:

• Natural Damping
• Artificial Damping

Resonance
It is the phenomenon wherein an external vibrating system causes the oscillation of another system
with a higher amplitude at a particular frequency. The frequency at that particular resonance level
is known as a resonant frequency. For instance, when tuning a guitar with the help of another
guitar, the resonant frequency can be observed. In this case, the amplitude of the vibration of the
string is the highest. The reason for large amplitude oscillations generated at that resonant
frequencies are as a result of vibrational energy that is accumulated in the system. Resonance is of
the following types:

• Mechanical
• Acoustic
• Orbital
• Particle
• Electrical