In a damped harmonic oscillator, what effect does increasing the damping coefficient have on the oscillation?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
In a damped harmonic oscillator, what effect does increasing the damping coefficient have on the oscillation?
Increases amplitude
Decreases amplitude
Increases frequency
Decreases frequency
Increasing the damping coefficient results in a decrease in amplitude over time, leading to quicker energy loss.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: In a damped harmonic oscillator, what effect does increasing the damping coefficient have on the oscillation?
Solution: Increasing the damping coefficient results in a decrease in amplitude over time, leading to quicker energy loss.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what a damped harmonic oscillator is. It is a system that oscillates (moves back and forth) but loses energy over time due to damping.
Step 2: Identify what the damping coefficient is. It is a number that represents how much the oscillation is slowed down or damped.
Step 3: Recognize that increasing the damping coefficient means making the system lose energy faster.
Step 4: Realize that when the damping coefficient is increased, the oscillations will have a smaller amplitude (height) over time.
Step 5: Conclude that with a higher damping coefficient, the system will stop oscillating more quickly because it loses energy faster.
