Question

Imagine a child sitting on a swing in a park and the child's mother is pushing the swing from the back. The mother maintains the same tempo as the motion of the swing. If the mother tries to push at a faster tempo, the arc of the swing will:

• A. increase
• B. decrease
• C. remain the same
• D. become zero, i.e., the swing will stop

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

decrease

As the mother maintains the same tempo as the motion of the swing, it means frequency of mother and the swing is same, there is resonance. When mother tries to push at a faster tempo, frequency of mother changes and resonance is disturbed due to which, the arc of swing (amplitude) decreases.