Practice question · Fill in the blanks
Complete the defining property of simple harmonic motion that makes pendulums good clocks.
For an ideal oscillator the period ______.
Word bank: grows with the amplitude · does not depend on the amplitude · equals the frequency · shrinks as the mass increases
Hints
- Compare a big swing and a small swing of the same pendulum.
- A clock would be useless if its rate changed as the swing decayed.
Show the answer
For an ideal oscillator the period does not depend on the amplitude.
Why
A large swing covers more distance but moves faster, and the two effects cancel exactly, so the timing is unchanged. That amplitude independence is precisely what allows a pendulum to keep time as friction gradually reduces its swing.
Practise Oscillations and Waves
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