Simple harmonic motion
Understand SHM equations, energy in SHM, damping, forced vibrations and resonance
What you'll learn
- 1
Imagine a weight on a spring. When you pull it down and let go, it bobs up and down — that's simple harmonic motion (SHM)!
- 2
What happens to the force pulling the weight back as you pull it further down?
- 3
Drag the weight to different positions and feel how the force changes.
- 4
A pendulum swings back and forth. Let's find the time for one full swing (the period).
- 5
Change the length of the pendulum and see how the period changes.
- 6
If you double the length of a pendulum, what happens to its period?
- 7
In SHM, the acceleration is always directed towards the...?
Practise Simple harmonic motion with Whizlo
Free AI-tutored lessons, unlimited practice questions, and progress tracking for ages 16–18. Aligned to the UK National Curriculum.