Question

On a warm, balmy summer day you decide to relax by watching the latest building renovation in your neighborhood. You notice that a very heavy wrecking ball is attached to a much lighter chain and is dangling from a crane and swinging back and forth. As long as it does not swing too high the time it takes the wrecking ball to complete one full oscillation will be independent of A) the weight of the ball, but not the amplitude of the motion.B) both the amplitude of the motion and the weight of the ball.C) both the length of the chain supporting the ball and the amplitude of the motion.D) the amplitude of the motion, but not the weight of the ball.

Answer 1

Answer:

B) both the amplitude of the motion and the weight of the ball

Explanation:

Time period of a pendulum is given by

$T=2\pi \sqrt{\dfrac{L}{g}}$

where,

L = Length of pendulum

g = Acceleration due to gravity

The system here is similar to a simple pendulum

It can be seen that the time period depends on L and g.

Amplitude and weight are the factors that do not determine the time period.

Hence, the answer is B) both the amplitude of the motion and the weight of the ball