Seed Question 10-1

course Phy 201

A pendulum requires 2 seconds to complete a cycle, which consists of a complete back-and-forth oscillation (extreme point to equilibrium to opposite extreme point back to equilibrium and finally to the original extreme point). As long as the amplitude of the motion (the amplitude is the distance from the equilibrium position to the extreme point) is small compared to the length of the pendulum, the time required for a cycle is independent of the amplitude.•How long does it take to get from one extreme point to the other, how long from an extreme point to equilibrium, and how long to go from extreme point to equilibrium to opposite extreme point and back to equilibrium?

If it takes 2 seconds for a complete cycle, then it requires 1 sec. for half of a cycle. Therefore, from one extreme to the equilibrium, requires .5 sec. Based on these measurements, it would take 1.5 secs to get from one extreme to the other extreme and back to the equilibrium.

• What reasonable assumption did you make to arrive at your answers?

I assumed that it takes the same amount of time from the starting extreme to the opposite extreme, as it does from the opposite extreme back to the starting extreme.

Good. Note that you also made a similar assumption about motion from equilibrium to extreme and vice versa.