Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge / 2019 / Paper 2 / Section B / B7 / c / Solution

Let the initial conditions be $x(0)=0$ and $\dot{x}(0^{+})=v_0>0$. The velocity-impulse response of a damped oscillator isAll curves start at the origin with the same positive slope $v_0$. Underdamping gives a decaying sequence of positive and negative lobes. Critical damping gives one positive lobe followed by return to zero. Overdamping also remains positive for these initial data, but has a longer tail. The initial impulse changes velocity abruptly, not displacement.