All Flashcards
What are the differences between a simple pendulum and a physical pendulum?
Simple Pendulum: Point mass on a massless string, period depends only on length. | Physical Pendulum: Rigid object with distributed mass, period depends on moment of inertia and mass distribution.
Compare and contrast torque and force.
Torque: Rotational force, causes angular acceleration, depends on the distance from the pivot point. | Force: Linear force, causes linear acceleration, independent of pivot point.
What are the differences between angular velocity and linear velocity?
Angular Velocity: Rate of change of angular displacement, measured in radians per second, describes rotational motion. | Linear Velocity: Rate of change of linear displacement, measured in meters per second, describes translational motion.
Compare and contrast moment of inertia and mass.
Moment of Inertia: Resistance to rotational motion, depends on mass distribution, . | Mass: Resistance to linear motion, scalar quantity, intrinsic property of an object.
What are the differences between potential and kinetic energy in a pendulum?
Potential Energy: Energy due to position, , maximum at maximum displacement. | Kinetic Energy: Energy due to motion, , maximum at equilibrium position.
What is a physical pendulum?
A rigid object that swings back and forth around a fixed pivot point, with a complex shape and mass distribution.
Define moment of inertia.
A measure of an object's resistance to changes in its rotational motion, dependent on mass distribution.
What is torque?
A rotational force that causes an object to rotate around an axis.
Define angular frequency.
The rate of change of an angle, measured in radians per second, representing how quickly an object oscillates.
What is Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)?
A type of periodic motion where the restoring force is directly proportional to the displacement, resulting in sinusoidal oscillations.
What is the effect of increasing the moment of inertia on the period of a physical pendulum?
Increasing the moment of inertia increases the period of the physical pendulum.
What happens if the distance from the pivot to the center of mass (d) increases?
The period of the pendulum decreases.
What is the effect of increasing the mass of a physical pendulum (assuming mass distribution remains constant)?
The period of the physical pendulum remains unchanged because mass appears in both the numerator (via moment of inertia) and the denominator of the period equation.
What happens when the small-angle approximation is no longer valid?
The motion of the pendulum deviates from Simple Harmonic Motion, and the period becomes dependent on the amplitude of the oscillation.
What is the effect of friction on a physical pendulum?
Friction causes the pendulum's oscillations to dampen over time, reducing the amplitude and eventually bringing the pendulum to rest.