Question

Describe two examples of oscillating systems that are not harmonic oscillators.

Short answer

Examples of oscillating systems which is not harmonic are the bouncing ball, Earth in its orbit, and a swing motion.

Step-by-step solution

Oscillation system

An oscillating system is a moving object that returns to its starting condition after a period of time. There are no net forces operating on the object at equilibrium. This is when the pendulum swing is vertical.

The bouncing ball

When you free-falling a bouncy ball and just let it bounce, the period reduces as the bounce amplitude reduces, as the height of the bouncing ball becomes smaller and smaller as the time between bounces gets shorter and shorter.

Earth in its orbit

The earth's angular speed is constant, moving at a constant rate that is neither maximum nor zero.

Furthermore, the earth does not move back and forth. It only moves in one direction.