PH1201 (Spring Semester 2026)
Tutorial-7
Dr. Shivangi Shree
1. Consider a paperweight suspended from a hefty rubber band. The period of oscillation for
this system is 1.2 s and the amplitude of oscillation decreases by a factor of 2 after 3
periods. What is the estimated quality factor of this system?
2. Consider an electrical circuit consisting of an inductor, of inductance L, connected in series
with a capacitor, of capacitance C, and a resistor, of resistance R. Find the current flowing
in the circuit and quality factor.
3. Show that the ratio of two successive maxima in the displacement of a damped harmonic
oscillator is constant.
4. In dynamic mode Atomic Force Microscope, the cantilever behaves like a forced damped
oscillator with resonance frequency 𝑓! . When the tip interacts with the surface, the
$!
effective stiffness changes by 𝑘"# , shifting the resonance by Δ𝑓 ≈ − %&
𝑘"# . A cantilever
has 𝑓! = 300 𝑘𝐻𝑧, 𝑘 = 40 𝑁𝑚'( , 𝑄 = 200, 𝐴 = 10 𝑛𝑚, Δ𝑓 = −5 𝐻𝑧.
a. Find the effective stiffness 𝑘"# and estimate the interaction force if it acts over 1
nm.
( %)*
b. Calculate the oscillation energy 𝐸 = % 𝑘𝐴% , and energy loss per cycle Δ𝐸 = + .
c. Comment briefly on sensitivity of this system that makes it a powerful tool for
nanoscale force measurement.
5. An atom clock operates by driving microwave transitions between two hyperfine energy
levels of Cesium-133 atoms. The atomic system can be viewed as a damped harmonic
oscillator that is forced by an external microwave field. The frequency of this microwave
field is carefully tuned to match the atom’s natural transition frequency.
a. Explain why the amplitude (or the transition) of the atomic oscillations is maximum
at resonance and how this property is used to stabilize the clock frequency.
b. Find the FWHM of the resonance curve in Hz for 𝑓! = 9.192631770 𝐺𝐻𝑧, 𝑄 =
10, .
6. Consider two pendula, which are coupled together with a spring, spring constant k, as
shown in figure-1. Assume that the displacement from the equilibrium positions are small
enough that small angle approximation could be used and motion is approximately only in
the x-direction. Find the normal modes and normal co-ordinates for this system.
Figure-1
7. A damped oscillating system has an effective mass m, a natural frequency 𝜔- and has a
./"
damping co-efficient proportional to the velocity of magnitude . If there is a driving
√%
/" "
force 𝐹 cos A B, show that the energy supplied to the system by driving force during the
√%
) 1 # ()'%)
first quarter period of the force, i.e., during the interval 𝑡 = 0 to 𝑡 = , is 4./"#
.
√%/"
8. Consider two masses connected via springs, which have spring constants k, as shown in
figure-2. Assume this coupled oscillator is immersed in a fluid so that both masses feel a
damping force, 𝐹 = −𝑏𝑣. Find solution in terms of 𝑥( (𝑡) and 𝑥% (𝑡).
Figure-2
9. A mass less spring of spring constant 10 N/m is suspended from rigid support and carries
a mass of 0.1 kg at its lower end. The system is subjected to resistive force −𝛽𝑣, where b
is a constant and 𝑣 is the velocity. It is observed that the system performs damped
oscillatory motion and its energy decays to 1/e of its initial value in 50 sec. (a) Find the Q
value of the oscillator. (b) Show that the fractional change in the frequency of the damped
(
oscillator is ≈ 5+# . What is the percentage change in frequency due to damping?