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How can you construct a simple pendulum with the shortest period? - Coggle…
How can you construct a simple pendulum with the shortest period?
Parts of a simple pendulum
Has a weighted bob at the end.
The bob is held up by a length of string, acting as the arm of the pendulum.
Follows a circular arc-like path and oscillates to and fro from its maximum to its centre to its maximum on the opposite side and then back again.
The string is attached on one end to the weighted bob and to a fixed spot above the ground from the other end, with the bob free to swing back and forth without hindrance.
What factors affect the motion of a pendulum?
The force of gravity acts upon the pendulum.
Acceleration due to gravity causes the pendulum to follow a circular arc-like path.
The pendulum has potential and kinetic energy, which are constantly transformed between one another throughout its oscillatory path.
The displacement of the pendulum from its resting, equilibrium position determines the height above the ground from which it will be released. The displacement is also known as the amplitude.
Air resistance acts as the opposing, frictional force on the pendulum's motion, hindering it and slowing it down, decreasing its velocity and increasing its period of oscillation.
What is the period of a pendulum?
The time taken to complete one oscillation (return back to its original position once after release) is the period of a pendulum.
The shortest period means the least amount of time taken to complete one oscillation.
How can the period of a pendulum be measured?
Timing the time taken to complete a certain number of oscillations over a few trials using a stopwatch, finding the average and diving by the number of oscillations to find the period.
What factors may impact the period?
The mass of the weighted bob.
The displacement/amplitude of the pendulum's path - the distance from its centre from which it is released.
The length of the pendulum/the string.