The period of a simple pendulum is 1 s on Earth. When brought to a planet where g is one-tenth that on Earth, its period becomes:
A) 1 s
C) 1/10 s
E) 10 s

Question

The period of a simple pendulum is 1 s on Earth. When brought to a planet where g is one-tenth that on Earth, its period becomes:
A) 1 s 
C) 1/10 s 
E) 10 s

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The period of a pendulum depends on the gravitational acceleration (g) of the planet it is on. Since g on the new planet is 1/10th of g on Earth, the period of the pendulum will increase. Using the equation T = 2π√(L/g), where T is the period, L is the length of the pendulum and g is the acceleration due to gravity, we can see that if g is smaller, the period will be larger. Therefore, the new period will be 10 s.

The Period of a Simple Pendulum Is 1 S on Earth