alleryStart learning →A simple pendulum behaves as a simple harmonic oscillator only for amplitudes that are:
ALarge angles only
BRight angles only
CAny angle at all
DSmall angles only
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Small angles only
1. Simple harmonic motion requires the restoring force to be proportional to the displacement.
2. For a pendulum that proportionality only holds approximately.
3. For small angles the restoring force is directly proportional to the displacement, and the simple pendulum is a simple harmonic oscillator.
4. At small angles the sine of the angle and the angle itself differ by about 1 percent or less.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics for AP(R) Courses 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 16 'Oscillatory Motion and Waves', sections 16.1-16.11_
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