Before proceeding however, it is important to note that in addition to the exact solution, we have at least two further tests which can be used to check our solution.

Since functions like \( cos \) are periodic with a period \( 2\pi \), then the solution \( x(t) \) has also to be periodic. This means that $$ x(t+T)=x(t), $$ with \( T \) the period defined as $$ T=\frac{2\pi}{\omega_0}=\frac{2\pi}{\sqrt{k/m}}. $$ Observe that \( T \) depends only on \( k/m \) and not on the amplitude of the solution.