Question

14.6 A pendulum clock is made with a metal rod. It keeps perfect time at temperature 20 degrees celcius. at a higher temperature the rod lengthens. How will this change the clock's timing?

A the clock will fun fast; the dial will be ahead of the actual time
B the clock will keep perfect time
C the clock will run slow; the dial will be behind the actual time

Answer 1

The pendulum clock will run slow when the temperature is higher than 20 degrees Celsius due to the expansion of the metal rod, making the pendulum's period longer and the clock's timing slower.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a pendulum clock's metal rod is subjected to higher temperatures, it expands and increases in length. This directly affects the timekeeping of the clock. According to the principles of a simple pendulum, the period of the pendulum, which depends on the length of the pendulum rod, is given by T = 2π√(l/g), where T is the period, l is the length of the pendulum, and g is the acceleration due to gravity. When the pendulum rod expands and its length increases, the period T increases, resulting in a longer duration for each swing.

This means that the clock will run slow; the dial will be behind the actual time because it takes longer for the pendulum to complete one oscillation. If the clock kept perfect time at 20 degrees Celsius, any increase in temperature that causes the metal rod to lengthen will slow down the clock's timing.