AP Physics C: Mechanics 7.4 Energy of Simple Harmonic Oscillators Questions

Analyze how kinetic and potential energy exchange during SHM, using amplitude, displacement, and initial conditions while total energy is conserved.

Syllabus
Effective Fall 2024
Course
AP Physics C: Mechanics

Exam points

  • use E = K + U and E = one half kA squared to find position or a turning point
  • construct spring potential and kinetic energy as squared sinusoidal functions of time
  • apply energy conservation to a torsional oscillator and test which parameters change its maximum energy

Question 1

[Maximum number: 2]

A student makes a torsional pendulum by suspending a uniform disk of mass M and radius R from a light wire with torsion constant κ\kappa that is attached to the center of the disk as shown in Figure 1. The rotational inertia of the disk is given by I=12MR2I=\frac{1}{2} M R^{2}. The student conducts an investigation to determine the relationship between the period of oscillation T of the torsional pendulum and the number N of identical disks that are suspended from the wire.
The student starts with a single disk. Holding the disk at a small initial angular displacement θ0\theta_{0} from the untwisted position, the student releases the disk from rest and the pendulum oscillates. The student records the period of oscillation for a single disk. An additional identical disk is attached, as shown in Figure 2, and the procedure is repeated for N=2 disks. This procedure is repeated through N=10 identical disks. Assume the disks move together as one system.

The potential energy stored in the torsional pendulum when the disks are displaced is U=12κ(Δθ)2U=\frac{1}{2} \kappa(\Delta \theta)^{2}. On the following axes, sketch a graph of the maximum kinetic energy Kmax K_{\text {max }} of the torsional pendulum as a function of N for N1N \geq 1.

Figure for Question 1 — AP Physics C: Mechanics
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