Periodic and Simple Harmonic Motion
This topic is broken into units to help in formulating cohesive, effective lessons. Clicking on each unit title below will display appropriate activities, lesson plans, or labs.
Unit materials are a subset of all possible materials available for this topic, selected especially with the new physics teacher in mind. You may instead browse all materials for this topic here .
Conceptual Physics Periodic and Simple Harmonic Motion Units
Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM). The motion that occurs when an object is accelerated towards a midpoint or equilibruim position. The size of the acceleration is dependent upon the distance of the object from the mid-point. Examples of this type of motion are sea waves, pendulums and springs. Units are not listed in a prescribed order.
Lesson Plans:
This is an introductory lesson to help students gain understanding of periodic motion by observing and measuring an easily-constructed pendulum. Try teaming it with the pendulum applet below.
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This is a great lesson plan created to be used with the simulation "Wave on a String", developed by PhET (Physics Education Technology Project). Users apply the concepts introduced in the computer simulation to explore frequency, amplitude, and tension on an oscillating string.
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Activities:
By varying the length, mass, and gravity of a simulated pendulum, students explore undamped simple harmonic motion. This simulation works well with the Pendulum lesson plan above.
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This set of interactive materials takes the student through a step-by-step tutorial on wave motion. Simple animations and explanations are accompanied by multiple choice questions and answers for measuring individual comprehension. The material focuses on properties of trigonometric functions, but is organized so that beginners can follow the progression.
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Student Tutorials:
This applet simulates standing waves on a vibrating string which is 'plucked' with the mouse. Options include adjusting the damping, force frequency (which can be set to resonance frequency), number of loads, simulation speed and tension.
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Activities:
In this realistic virtual mass-and-spring laboratory, students explore spring motion by manipulating stiffness of the spring and mass of the hanging weight.
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This item combines a simulation of a simple linear oscillator with detailed content support explaining the physics. Both numerical and analytical solutions are given, as well as puzzles for student interaction.
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Content Support For Teachers:
This lab activity, designed to explore the potential energy of springs, is offered in both an introductory and an advanced version. Using equipment available in most high school science labs, it includes reproducible data tables, "elicit" questions, and graphing activities.
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Student Tutorials:
This applet simulates a harmonic coupled line of masses moving in one dimension. The load, damping, and stiffness of the springs are adjustable. It includes more complex concepts, such as phases and magnitudes of normal modes.
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Content Support For Teachers:
Teachers who want a refresher on the topic of oscillating motion will appreciate these illustrated lecture notes on pendulum action and damped driven oscillators. Be sure not to miss the animated spreadsheets in Excel format, which can be customized and used in the classroom. Also included are sets of printable student study sheets and problem sets on oscillations.
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