Oscillations and Mechanical Waves Port-au-Prince Earthquake (Part 2)                 Date : January 2015 Author : Olivier Tardif-Paradis, Mathieu Riopel College : Cégep Garneau Length : 3 to 4 hours Related concept(s) : Simple harmonic motion (SHM), damped harmonic motion (DHM), forced harmonic motion (FHM).     The students are asked to find the characteristics that influence the vibration of a building during an earthquake. The situation is the catastrophe following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. This problem can be done after the first part, in which the students are asked to determine the natural oscillation frequency of a building. This second part draws on physics concepts related to forced harmonic motion (FHM) and damped harmonic motion (DHM). The students must determine the various oscillation parameters of the building in forced harmonic motion (resonance frequency, quality factor, damping coefficient) and discuss their effects on the oscillation of the building during the earthquake.