
State what is meant by simple harmonic motion.
A trolley of mass
is held on a horizontal surface by means of two springs. One spring is attached to a fixed point P. The other spring is connected to an oscillator, as shown in the figure below.
The springs, each having spring constant
of
, are always extended. The oscillator is switched off. The trolley is displaced along the line of the springs and then released. The resulting oscillations of the trolley are simple harmonic. The acceleration
of the trolley is given by the expression

where
is the displacement of the trolley from its equilibrium position. The mass of the trolley is
. Calculate the frequency
of oscillation of the trolley.