KC4017 - Particles, Waves & Big Bang Seminar sheet 4 • 1

Seminar sheet 3: Undamped and Damped Oscillation

Q1. Energy and maximal velocity of pendulum. A trapeze artist starts her motion on the trapeze
from rest with the rope at an angle of 45◦ relative to the vertical. With a rope of length 5m, what
is the speed at the lowest point in her trajectory?

Q2. Suppose we could drill a tunnel straight through the centre of the Moon, from one side to
the other.
Assume the gravitational force inside a spherical mass distribution of constant density defined
by formula Fg = mgr
R , where r is a distance from the centre of the sphere and R is the radius
of the sphere (r < R) is acting on the ball as a spring. Then the restoring force of this spring
F (x) = −kx, so that the spring constant k = mg
R . Note that the mass of the Moon is 7.35 × 10
22
6
kg and the Moon’s radius is 1.735 × 10 m.

If we released a ball of mass 5kg from rest at one end of this tunnel

i) find the spring constant of the ball oscillation inside the moon,
ii)derive the equation of motion for the ball,
iii) calculate its angular speed,
iv) calculate its period of oscillation,
v) derive the equation for velocity variations,
vi) calculate the maximal velocity.

Q3. A small ball of mass m slides with no friction on a straight horizontal rail connected to the
end of a Hooke’s spring, of elasticity constant K, fixed to a point O of the rail. Its position at the
time t with respect to the equilibrium position O can be written in the form

x(t) = A sin(ω0 t + θ0 ).

Given that the position at the time t is

√
1 2
x(t) = sin(ω0 t) + cos(ω0 t)
2 4
i) Find the amplitude A of oscillations.

ii) Find the phase shift θ0 .

Q4. A pendulum of length 45.3 cm is hanging from the ceiling. Its motion is restricted by a
peg that is sticking out of the wall 26.6 cm directly below the pivot point. The gravitational
acceleration on the surface of the Earth is g = 9.81 m/s2 . What is the period T of oscillation?
 KC4017 - Particles, Waves & Big Bang Seminar sheet 4 • 2

Q5. Two identical point-like particles of mass m = 1 kg are subject to two identical Hooke’s
springs of elastic constant K = 1 N/m and oscillate with equal amplitudes. Their initial positions
and speeds are respectively

dx1
x1 (0) = A (0) = 0
dt
dx2
x2 (0) = B 6= A (0) = v0 .
dt

It is observed that at the time t = 2π/3 the two particles cross each other. Find the phase shift
between the two oscillators.

Q6. (Bauer, Problem 14.46) A 3kg mass attached to a spring with k = 140 N/m is oscillating
in a vat of oil, which damps the oscillations.

i) If the damping constant of the oil is b = 10 kg/s, how long will it take the amplitude of the
oscillations to decrease to 1% of its original value?

ii) What should the damping constant be to reduce the amplitude of the oscillations by 99%
in 1s?

Answers
Q1. v(θ) = 2gl(cos(θ) − cos(θ0 )) = 5.36ms−1
p

Q2. q
i) k = RgM
M
=4.7 · 10−6 (N · m−1 ),

ii) The equation of motion is x(t) = RM cos(ω0 t),

iii) ω0 = 9.69x10−4 s−1 ,

2π
iv) T = ω0 = 6485s,

dx
v) v(t) = dt = −ω0 RM sin(ω0 t),

vi) vmax = ω0 RM = √1680ms−1 .

Q3. i) A = 46
√
2
ii) θ0 = arctan 2

Q4. T ≈ 1.11 s

4π
Q5. 3

Q6. i) t ≈ 2.76 s

ii) γ ≈ 27.63 kg/s