Simple Pendulum Period Quiz - Quiz Questions
Test your understanding of simple pendulum period laws, including period formula applications and controlled variable experiment design.
1. Which of the following factors affects the period $T$ of a simple pendulum?
- A. Pendulum length $L$
- B. Bob mass $m$
- C. Initial swing angle $\theta_0$ (within small angle range)
- D. Material of the bob
2. If the pendulum length is increased to 4 times its original value, the period will become how many times the original?
- A. 2 times
- B. 4 times
- C. 16 times
- D. Unchanged
3. A simple pendulum with length $1.0\ \text{m}$ on Earth's surface ($g = 9.8\ \text{m/s}^2$) has a period of approximately? ($\pi \approx 3.14$)
- A. About $2.0\ \text{s}$
- B. About $1.0\ \text{s}$
- C. About $3.14\ \text{s}$
- D. About $0.5\ \text{s}$
4. When investigating the relationship between pendulum period and length, how should variables be controlled?
- A. Keep bob mass and initial angle constant, only change length
- B. Change both length and bob mass simultaneously
- C. Keep length constant, only change bob mass
- D. Change all variables simultaneously
5. If a simple pendulum is taken from Earth to the Moon (Moon's gravity is about $\frac{1}{6}$ of Earth's), how will its period change?
- A. Becomes $\sqrt{6}$ times (about 2.45 times)
- B. Becomes 6 times
- C. Becomes $\frac{1}{6}$
- D. Remains unchanged
6. Why does the simple pendulum period formula only hold for small angles (typically $< 15°$)?
- A. Because only at small angles does $\sin\theta \approx \theta$ approximation hold
- B. Because at large angles the string would break
- C. Because at large angles air resistance is too great
- D. Because at large angles the bob mass would change
7. A pendulum clock is running slow. How should it be adjusted?
- A. Shorten the pendulum length
- B. Increase the pendulum length
- C. Increase the bob mass
- D. Decrease the bob mass
8. A pendulum has period $T$. To make the period become $2T$, the length should become how many times the original?
- A. 4 times
- B. 2 times
- C. $\sqrt{2}$ times
- D. 8 times
9. In this experiment, how can a simple pendulum be used to measure local gravitational acceleration?
- A. Measure length $L$ and period $T$, calculate using $g = \frac{4\pi^2 L}{T^2}$
- B. Measure bob mass and period
- C. Measure swing angle and period
- D. Only need to measure the period
10. Historically, who first discovered the isochronism of the simple pendulum?
- A. Galileo
- B. Newton
- C. Huygens
- D. Einstein