6.1 - Understanding Waves 3

Topic 6 : Waves
Sub-topic 6.1 : Understanding Waves

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of learning session, students should be able to

1. Describe damping in oscillating system.
2. Describe resonance in oscillating system.

Contents:

1. The amplitude of oscillation of the simple pendulum will gradually decrease and become zero when the oscillation stops. The decrease in the amplitude of an oscillating system is called damping.
2. An oscillating system experiences damping when its energy is drained out as heat energy.
3. The frequency of a system which oscillates freely without the action of an external force is called the natural frequency.
4. Resonance occurs when a system is made to oscillate at a frequency equivalent to its natural frequency by an external force. The resonating system oscillates at its maximum amplitude.

Natural Frequency

Barton Pendulum

Resonance Experiment

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster

Teaching Coursewares

1. Daily Lesson Plan