Chapter 4: Oscillations and Waves
Chapter 4: Oscillations and Waves
Chapter 4: Oscillations and Waves
Gizaw Birhanu
Lecture Note Prepared for the Crash Academic Program, August 2021
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Periodic Motion is motion that repeats itself after equal time intervals.
Examples: a mass attached to a spring, the swinging pendulum, etc
Such a motion is called Periodic Motion or Oscillatory Motion.
It occurs whenever a body has a stable equilibrium posiion and a
restoring force that acts when it is displaced from equilibrium.
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Note that at any instant when the spring has length l + x, there is a
force tending to restore m to its equilibrium position.
According to Hooke’s law this force, called the Restoring Force, is
proportional to the displacement x and is given by:
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FR = −kx
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where the subscript R stands for ”restoring force” and where k is the
constant of proportionality often called the spring constant, or force
constant. The negative sign tells that always FR is opposite to x.
By Newton’s second law we have,
d 2 (x)
m = −kx
dt 2
⇒ mẍ + kx = 0
k
⇒ ẍ + x = 0
m
This is a second-order-differential-equation.
This periodic vibrating system is called a simple harmonic oscillator or
linear harmonic oscillator.
This type of oscillatory motion is often called simple harmonic motion
or in short SHM.
When the restoring force FR is directly proportional to the DBU 2021
The amplitude of the motion is the distance A and is the greatest DBU 2021
x = acosωt + bsinωt
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= Acos(ωt − φ)
a b b
Where: √ = cosφ; √ = sinφ; tanφ = ; and
2
a +b 2 2
a +b 2 a
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p
A = a2 + b 2
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The Phase Angle φ is, therefore,
b
tanφ =
a
The Amplitude, A is therefore,
p
A= a2 + b 2
The Angular frequency ω is given by:
r
k
ω=
m
k
The solution of the DE: ẍ + mx = 0 is
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Required (a) the DE and initial conditions, (b) x(t), (c)v (t) and a(t);
(d) T and f
d 2 (x)
m = −(0.245N/m)x
dt 2
⇒ (0.005kg )ẍ + (0.245N/m)x = 0
⇒ ẍ + 49x = 0
is the required DE. And the initial conditions: x(t = 0) = 0.2m and DBU 2021
v (t = 0) = 0
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Solution for part (b): the solution for the DE is:
x(t) q q − φ) = acosωt + bsinωt, where:
= Acos(ωt
k 0.245N/m
ω= m = 0.005kg = 7rad/s
Differentiating x(t) = acosωt + bsinωt, wrt t gives
ẋ = −aωsinωt + bωcosωt
Since at t = 0, x(0) = 0.2m = acos0 + bsin0, this implies that
a = 0.2m. Similarly, since at t = 0,
v (t = 0) = 0 = −(0.2)(7)sin0 + (b)(7)cos0 = 0, this implies that
b=0
0
Therefore, tanφ = 0.2 , and φ = 0, and hence:
x(t) = 0.2Cos7t
⇒ E = kA2
2
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Velocity and Acceleration of SHM
We can obtain the velocity of the block-spring system at an arbitrary
position by expressing the total energy of the system at some
arbitrary position x as: E = 21 mv 2 + 21 kx 2
1 1 1
⇒ mv 2 + kx 2 = kA2
2 2 2
Calculating for the velocity v gives:
r
k 2
v= (A − x 2 )
m
Since the equation of motion is ẍ + kx = 0, then:
k
ẍ = − x
m
= ±A, then:
When the mass is at x q
k 2
the velocity is: v = m (A − A2 ) = Zero
k
a = −( )x
m
and: r
m
T = 2π
k
we find:
4π 2
a=− x
T2
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1 The shock absorbers in an old car with mass 1000kg are completely
worn out. When a 980 − N person climbs slowly into the car at its
center of gravity, the car sinks 2.8cm. The car (with the person
aboard) hits a bump, and the car starts oscillating up and down in
SHM. Model the car and person as a single body on a single spring,
and find the period and frequency of the oscillation.
2 In an engine, a piston oscillates with simple harmonic motion so that
its position varies according to the expression: x = 5.00Cos(2t + π/6)
where x is in centimeters and t is in seconds. At t = 0, find (a) the
position of the particle, (b) its velocity, and (c) its acceleration. Find
(d) the period and (e) the amplitude of the motion.
3 A simple harmonic oscillator takes 12.0s to undergo five complete
vibrations. Find (a) the period of its motion, (b) the frequency in
hertz, and (c) the angular frequency in radians per second. DBU 2021
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v =λ×f
Or:
λ
v=
T
The amplitude A of a wave is the maximum displacement from DBU 2021
equilibrium position.
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In a transverse wave, the amplitude is half the distance between the
top of a crest and the bottom of a trough.
The intensity I of a wave is the rate at which it transports energy per
unit area perpendicular to the direction of motion.
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Where T is the tension along the string or wire in Newton (N), and µ
is the mass per unit length in kg /m.
Example: A horizontal stretched cord 5.00m long has a mass of
1.45g . What must be the tension in the cord if the wavelength of a
120Hz wave on it is to be 60.0cm?
Solution v = λ × f = (0.60m)(1201/s) = 72.0m/s
q q
×L
From v = Tµ = Tm , we have
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m×v 2 0.00145kg ×(72.0m/s)2
T = L = 5.00m = 1.50N
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Sound Waves
I
β = (10dB)log DBU 2021
I0
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Sound Intensity Levels from Various Sources
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I2 R2
= 12
I1 R2
Example 1 Consider an idealized bird (treated as a point source) that
emits constant sound power, with intensity obeying the inverse-square
law. If you move twice the distance from the bird, by how many
decibels does the sound intensity level drop?
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Figure: When you double your distance from a point source of sound, by
how much does the sound intensity level decrease?
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Example on Sound Intensity Levels
Solution: The decibel scale is logarithmic, so the difference between
two sound intensity levels corresponds to the ratio of the
corresponding intensities, which is determined by the inverse-square
law.
I1
We label the two points and use the equation β1 = (10dB)log and
I0
I2
β2 = (10dB)log , and find the difference between the two..
I0
I2 R2
And then, we use the equation: = 12 , to relate the intensities at
I1 R2
the two points. So,
β2 − β1 = (10dB) × (Log II20 − Log II01 ) = (10dB)Log II21 .
I2 R12
Since I1 = R22
= 1/4, then:
β2 − β1 = (10dB)Log II21 = (10dB)Log 14 = −6.0dB
Our result is negative, which tells us (correctly) that the sound DBU 2021
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