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Visit a playground that has a few swings. Measure the time taken by a swing to complete 10 oscillations and calculate its time period. Repeat this a few times with children of different weights to find out whether the time period stays almost the same. Then repeat with swings of different lengths, and find out how the time period changes as the length increases. Is a swing also an example of a pendulum?
Show Answer
A swing behaves like a pendulum — its time period depends on length, not on weight.
Key Points
- Measure the time for 10 oscillations and divide by 10 to get the time period.
- With children of different weights, the time period stays almost the same.
- With a longer swing, the time period becomes larger.
- So the time period depends on the length of the swing, not on the weight of the child.
- Yes — a swing is an example of a pendulum, because it oscillates about a mean position.
A swing is a pendulum: its time period grows with length and does not depend on weight.
