Keeping the bob of a simple pendulum near the floor reduces the potential energy of the system, which in turn decreases the amplitude of the pendulum's swing. This can help prevent the pendulum from swinging too wildly and potentially causing damage or injury. Additionally, having the bob closer to the floor reduces the distance it needs to fall, which can minimize the impact force when the pendulum reaches its lowest point.
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Keeping the bob of a simple pendulum near the floor reduces the potential energy of the pendulum system, making it less likely to swing with a high amplitude and potentially cause damage or injury. It also reduces the risk of the pendulum hitting the ceiling and disrupting the motion.
Two precautions taken to ensure accurate results in a simple pendulum experiment are using a long string to minimize air resistance and ensuring the pendulum swings in a small angle to approximate simple harmonic motion.
If the pendulum rod increases in length with an increase in temperature, the time kept by the pendulum clock will be longer than the actual time. This is because the period of a pendulum is directly proportional to the square root of its length, so a longer rod will result in a longer period of oscillation. This would cause the pendulum clock to run slower as the rod expands with higher temperatures.
If the grandfather clock is made of brass and the temperature increases from 17°C to 25°C, the clock would gain time due to the brass pendulum expanding. This is because as the temperature increases, the pendulum lengthens causing the clock to run faster. The exact amount of time gained would depend on the specific temperature coefficient of expansion of brass and the length of the pendulum.
The pendulum kept on moving due to inertia, which is the tendency of an object to continue in its state of motion. Once the pendulum is set into motion, it will keep swinging back and forth until an external force stops it or its energy is dissipated.
In an experiment, variables that must be kept constant are called control variables. Two common examples include temperature and pH levels. These variables should be kept constant to ensure that any changes observed in the dependent variable are a result of the independent variable being tested.