Question

What systems does the author describe as examples of simple harmonic motion? Select all that apply

mass on a spring

pendulum

rotating circular disk

Answer 1

mass on a spring, rotating circular motion and pendulum corresponds to SImple Harmonic Motion.

Simple pendulums behave much like harmonic oscillators like springs. The period of a pendulum is determined by its length and not its mass. In the case of a pendulum, the restoring force is provided not by a spring but by gravity,

                            F= -kx

If we consider a point on the rim of a disk as it rotates anticlockwise at a constant rate around a horizontal axis, it produces a sinusoidal graph. Plot the position of a mass on a spring bouncing up and down in simple harmonic motion as a function of time which is a sinusoidal graph too.