Question

A student decides to measure the period of a pendulum. Using a stopwatch, he finds that 10 complete swings take 17.54 seconds.

Is it acceptable for the student to claim that the period of the pendulum is 1.754 seconds? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

No, it is not acceptable for the student to claim that the period of the pendulum is 1.754 seconds. The period of a pendulum is the time it takes for one complete swing.

Step-by-step explanation:

No, it is not acceptable for the student to claim that the period of the pendulum is 1.754 seconds. The period of a pendulum is defined as the time it takes for one complete swing. In this case, the student measured that 10 complete swings took 17.54 seconds. To find the period, we divide the total time by the number of swings. So, the period would be:

Period = Total Time / Number of Swings = 17.54 seconds / 10 = 1.754 seconds (per swing).

This means that the period of each individual swing is 1.754 seconds, not the total period of the pendulum. The period of the pendulum would be 10 times longer, as it consists of 10 swings.