The restoring force in a simple harmonic oscillator is directly proportional to what? (2022)

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Q: The restoring force in a simple harmonic oscillator is directly proportional to what? (2022)

Solution: The restoring force (F) is directly proportional to the displacement (x) and acts in the opposite direction, F = -kx.

Steps: 5

Step 1: Understand what a simple harmonic oscillator is. It is a system that moves back and forth around a central point.
Step 2: Identify the term 'restoring force'. This is the force that pulls or pushes the system back towards the central point.
Step 3: Learn that the restoring force is related to how far the system is from the central point, which is called 'displacement'.
Step 4: Recognize that the restoring force (F) is directly proportional to the displacement (x). This means that if the displacement increases, the restoring force increases too.
Step 5: Note that the restoring force acts in the opposite direction of the displacement. This is why we write it as F = -kx, where k is a constant.