Question

As a pendulum moves closer to the equilibrium position, how do the velocity, acceleration, and force change?

Answer 1

As a pendulum moves closer to the equilibrium position, its velocity increases, peaking at equilibrium, while the acceleration and force become zero at that point as they are at maximum when the pendulum is at the furthest point from equilibrium.

Step-by-step explanation:

As a pendulum moves closer to the equilibrium position, its velocity increases because it is accelerating under the influence of the gravitational force. However, when it reaches the exact midpoint of its swing (the equilibrium position), the velocity is at its maximum while the acceleration and the restoring force are at zero, because at this point, the pendulum moves in a straight line and no longer in a circular arc, which means there is no longer any component of gravity acting to change its direction of motion.

Comparatively, as the pendulum moves away from the equilibrium position, it slows down since the force and acceleration act in the opposite direction of motion, which is upwards against gravity. Thus, these quantities are not constant and change throughout the pendulum's cycle.

Answer 2

As a pendulum moves toward the equilibrium position, velocity increases and acceleration decreases. As the pendulum moves away from the equilibrium position, velocity decreases and acceleration increases. Velocity is at a maximum when acceleration is zero.