IMAT 2011 Q70 [Simple Harmonic Motion]

Which one of the following is not an example of simple harmonic motion?

A. The motion of the Moon around the Earth as observed from Mars.

B. The ripples produced when a stone is dropped into a tank of water.

C. A weight moving up and down at the end of a spring.

D. The motion of a ball bouncing on the floor.

E. A vibrating violin string.

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In simple harmonic motion, the restoring force is directly proportional to the displacement of the body from the mean position. In D, there is no restoring force acting on the ball that is proportional to its displacement, so it won’t be considered a simple harmonic motion. Therefore, option D is wrong.

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