Question

An object swinging on the end of a string forms a simple pendulum. Some students (and some texts) often cite the simple pendulum's motion as an example of SHM. That is not quite accurate because the motion is really

• A. approximately SHM only for small amplitudes
• B. exactly SHM only for amplitudes that are smaller than a certain value
• C. approximately SHM for all amplitudes.
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

An object performing SHM moves along a straight path.

For large amplitudes, a pendulum moves in a curved path.