Question

A clock is made using a pendulum to count the time. The weight at the bottom of the pendulum can be adjusted to make the length of the pendulum longer or shorter. The clock runs too fast, meaning it counts 50 minutes as one full hour. What should you do to correct the clock?

Answer 1

To correct a clock that runs too fast, you should lengthen the pendulum, which will slow down the pendulum's swings and adjust the timekeeping to the correct rate.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a clock is running too fast and counts 50 minutes as one full hour, it means the pendulum is swinging too quickly. In order to correct the clock, you should lengthen the pendulum. According to the principles governing pendulum motion, the period of a pendulum (the time it takes to complete one swing) is proportional to the square root of its length. Therefore, to slow down the clock, increasing the length of the pendulum will increase its period, correcting the clock to match the correct passage of time. This will compensate for the clock previously running fast by making each swing take slightly longer, hence making the clock count 60 minutes as one full hour as it should.