If a pendulum is shortened, does its frequency increase or decrease?

1 Answer
Dec 16, 2017

The frequency increases.

Explanation:

The frequency with which a pendulum oscillates is given by the following equation:

#color(blue)(f=1/(2pi)sqrt(g/L))#

Where:

  • #g = 9.81"m"//"s"^2#
  • #L# is the length of the pendulum

If we shorten the pendulum, we decrease the value of #L#. Since this term is in the denominator of a fraction, this means that the argument of the square root #g//L# is increased overall.

#:.# The frequency increases.