Chapter 20, Problem 68A

To determine

The way in which the pendulum can be used to determine the acceleration of gravity.

Answer to Problem 68A

By determining the time period of simple pendulum, one can determine the acceleration due to gravity.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

The time period of a pendulum is given by,

  $T=2\pi \sqrt{\frac{l}{g}}$

Where, l is the length of the pendulum and g is the acceleration due to gravity.

As can be seen from above formula, the acceleration due to gravity is inversely proportional to the time period of a pendulum keeping the length of the pendulum constant.

Conclusion:

Hence, the acceleration due to gravity can be determine by determining the time period of a simple pendulum.