Harmonic Motion Motion in Cycles
What is Harmonic Motion? Motion that repeats; occurs in cycles. Cycle: Unit of motion that repeats over and over. Examples: Pendulums, Earth’s movements, sound or light waves.
Oscillation Oscillation: Oscillator: Vibration: Motion that repeats regularly. Oscillator: A system with harmonic motion Example: Solar system, heart and surrounding muscles Vibration: Motion that varies back and forth; fast movement
Describing Harmonic Motion Period: Time for one cycle to occur. Units: seconds (sec) Frequency: Number of cycles per second. Units: 1/sec or Hertz (Hz) Amplitude: Describes the size of a cycle; Units = meters (m)
Examples of Period/Frequency Problems The period of an oscillator is 15 minutes. What is the frequency of this oscillator in hertz? Remember 1 minute = 60 sec
Examples of Period/Frequency Problems 2. The period of an oscillator is 2 minutes. What is the frequency of the oscillator in Hertz?
Examples of Period/Frequency Problems How often would you push someone on a swing to create a frequency of 0.20 Hertz?
Graphing Harmonic Motion Let’s Make some Graphs!
Linear Graphs vs. Harmonic Graphs
Determining the period and amplitude from a Graph Start by identifying one wave cycle (peak to peak) Period = ending time – starting time Amplitude = ½ (high point – low point) Let’s go back and calculate the period and amplitude of the harmonic graph on the last slide!