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AP Physics C: Mechanics
7.4 Energy of Simple Harmonic Oscillators
7.1 Defining Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)
AdvancedMCQMathematicalProportional Analysis19.7k
A graph of potential energy U versus position x on bare Cartesian axes. The horizontal axis is labeled x with an origin at 0, and the vertical axis is labeled U. Two symmetric curves open upward from the origin. The first curve is drawn with a solid line and represents the anharmonic potential U(x); it passes through (0,0) and rises steeply on both sides of the origin. The second curve is drawn with a dashed line and represents the reference harmonic potential U_0(x); it also passes through (0,0) and lies strictly below the solid curve for all nonzero values of x. Two vertical dotted lines extend upward from tick marks at -A and A on the horizontal axis to intersect the curves. A legend in the upper-right corner indicates the solid line as U(x) and the dashed line as U_0(x). No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.
Comparison of the anharmonic potential energy curve U(x) to a purely harmonic potential energy curve U_0(x).
A particle of mass \(m\) is constrained to move along the \(x\)-axis in a potential energy field given by \(U(x) = \dfrac{1}{2}kx^2 + \dfrac{1}{4}bx^4\), where \(k\) and \(b\) are positive constants. The particle is released from rest at \(x = A\) and oscillates symmetrically about the equilibrium position at the origin. By applying conservation of mechanical energy, the particle's maximum speed at \(x = 0\) is derived as \(v_{\max} = A\sqrt{\dfrac{k}{m} + \dfrac{bA^2}{2m}}\). Which of the following statements correctly describes the limiting behavior of \(v_{\max}\) as \(A \to 0\) and as \(A \to \infty\), along with the appropriate physical justification?

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