Finding the amplitude an oscillator: Driven harmonic oscillator problem

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Homework Statement



A car is moving along a hill at constant speed on an undulating road with profile h(x) where h'(x) is small. The car is represented by a chassis which keeps contact with the road , connected to an upper mass m by a spring and a damper. At time t, the upper mas has displacement y(t) satisfies a differential equation of the form

y(double dot) + 2Ky(single dot)+\Omega2= 2Kch'(ct) + \Omega2h(ct)

where K and \Omega are positve constants.

Suppose that the profile of the road surface is given by h(x) = h0cos(px/c), where h0 and p are positive constants. Find the amplitude a of the driven oscillations of the upper mass.

I will post the website that contains my professor's hint to this problem and since the hint is in pdf form, I am unable to paste it

http://courses.ncsu.edu/py411/lec/001/

Go to homework tab
Then go to assignment 7
then go to 5.11 once you've clicked on assignment 7



Homework Equations






The Attempt at a Solution



y(double dot)+2K\varsigma'+\Omega2\varsigma=0

y=h(ct)+\varsigma==> \varsigma=y-h(ct)

\varsigma(single dot)=y(single dot)-h'c(ct)
y=ceipt
y(single dot)=cipeipt
y(double dot)=-c^2eipt
since h(x)=h(ct) and h(x) = h0cos(px/c),then h(x)= h0cos(px/c)= h0cos(pt)

h(x)= h0cos(pt)
h'(x)=-p h0sin(pt)

could I say h(x)= h0cos(pt)=h0e^ipt?

then
h(x)=h0e^ipt
h'(x)=iph0e^ipt

therefore, \varsigma=y-h(ct) becomes \varsigma=y-h(pt)=> \varsigma(single dot)=y(single dot)-h'p(pt)

plugging all of my variables into the equation y(double dot) + 2Ky(single dot)+\Omega2= 2Kch'(ct) + \Omega2h(ct)

I find c to be :

c=h0(2kp^2+\Omega2)/(\Omega2+2ki-2kh0p)

I do realize in order to get the amplitude I have to calculate the magnitude of c: I think I calculated my magnitude incorrectly :

According to my textbook , here is the actually amplitude

a= ((\Omega4+4K^2p^2)/((\Omega2-p^2)2+4K^2p^2))1/2
 
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anybody have any trouble reading my solution?
 
To solve this, I first used the units to work out that a= m* a/m, i.e. t=z/λ. This would allow you to determine the time duration within an interval section by section and then add this to the previous ones to obtain the age of the respective layer. However, this would require a constant thickness per year for each interval. However, since this is most likely not the case, my next consideration was that the age must be the integral of a 1/λ(z) function, which I cannot model.
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