Topic 13 – Vibrations and Waves

Goal: For this Topic, students will explore the elastic properties of mater and the simple harmonic oscillations of a vibrating system.

Objectives:

•        Define Hooke’s law, spring constant, amplitude, period and frequency. Explain simple harmonic motion, and relate the restoring force and resulting acceleration to a mass’s displacement from equilibrium.

•        Apply the conservation of total mechanical energy to solve problems involving springs. Use energy considerations to examine the connection between velocity and displacement for mass-spring systems.

•        Explain the relationship between simple harmonic motion and uniform circular motion. Calculate the period and frequency of an object-spring system.

•        Calculate displacement, velocity, and acceleration for systems experiencing simple harmonic motion.

•        Explain the relationship between the period, length, and gravitational acceleration for a simple pendulum. State the approximation that must be made to derive the pendulum equation.

•        Discuss damped oscillation for a system experiencing simple harmonic motion with friction.

•        Describe wave motion. Compare and contrast transverse and longitudinal waves, citing examples.

•        Solve sample problems using the wave speed equation.

•        Calculate the velocity of a transverse string wave.

•        Define the superposition principle for adding waves. Describe constructive and destructive interference, with examples.

•        Explain the rules for reflection and transmission of a wave pulse at a boundary.

Section Assignments:

1.  Read and Take Notes sections 13.1-13.3

2.     Read and Take Notes sections 13.4-13.5, Problems 6, 11, 13

3.     Read and Take Notes sections 13.6-13.8, Problems 18, 30, 34

4.     Problems 35, 39

5.     Read and Take Notes sections 13.9-13.11, Problems 42, 48

6.     Problems 49, 59, 60, 61, 68

7.     Test Review

8.     Chapter 13 Test