Phys-270 HOMEWORK 1 SOLUTIONS

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1 0.25
= 0.2 cos(4.5 + )
0.2

0.15 pi/2

0.1 pi/4
minus pi/2
0.05
0
y(m)

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
-0.05

-0.1

-0.15

-0.2

-0.25
t (s)

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2.
3.
4. in this problem the angular frequency is missing: =1 rad/s

2
v
2 2
2
xm x2 2 2 2 2 3
1 xm
2 2 x 2
m
3
4
xm 1.66 m

The equation of motions is therefore:

x(t ) 1.66 cos(1 t )

dx
And the velocity is v(t ) 1.66 sin(1 t )
dt

We know that v(0) 2m / s

This means that we have to solve the equations

2
v(0) 1.66 sin(1 0 ) 2 sin( ) 0.852 sin 1 (0.852)
1.66

1.02 rad

We have to check our answer that it gives the velocity with the correct sign

v(0) 1.66 sin(1.02) 1.41 2

So finally the equation of motion is

x(t ) 1.66 cos(t 1.02 rad ) m

5.
6.

If a force is continually or repeatedly applied on an oscillator is called forced or driven oscillation.

The oscillation frequency is equal to that of the external force.

Resonance is the phenomenon where the amplitude of a forced oscillation frequency becomes
maximum and it happens when the driving frequency is equal to one of the natural frequencies
of the oscillator.

An example of mechanical resonance in our life is the swing

We have to push the child at the right pace (the right frequency in order) to achieve a maximum
transfer of energy to the swinging child and maximize the amplitude of the oscillation
(c) We observe that the resonance happens at 0.9 Hz and hence the period is T=1/0.9 s

The period of the pendulum is given by

L 1 L
T 2 2 3.14 L 0.306m 0.31m
g 0.9 9.8