\(\def \u#1{\,\mathrm{#1}}\) \(\def \abs#1{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\def \ast{*}\) \(\def \deg{^{\circ}}\) \(\def \redcancel#1{{\color{red}\cancel{#1}}}\) \(\def \BLUE#1{{\color{blue} #1}}\) \(\def \RED#1{{\color{red} #1}}\) \(\def \PURPLE#1{{\color{purple} #1}}\) \(\def \th#1,#2{#1,\!#2}\) \(\def \lshift#1#2{\underset{\Leftarrow\atop{#2}}#1}}\) \(\def \rshift#1#2{\underset{\Rightarrow\atop{#2}}#1}}\) \(\def \dotspot{{\color{lightgray}{\circ}}}\)

History Graphs

The history graph of an oscillation shows its displacement $y(t)$ on the vertical axis, versus the time on the horizontal axis.

• The amplitude of the oscillation is the vertical distance from the center line to the crest. It has the same units as displacement.
• The period of the oscillation is the distance between two consecutive crests. It has units of seconds.
• The frequency of the oscillation can be found by measuring the period first, and finding the reciprocal.