You find out that it takes 2 seconds for the swing
to complete one cycle. What is the swing’s period and frequency
Period is a time quantity. Frequency is the cycles/second. Period is the seconds/cycle. As an example of the distinction and the relatedness of frequency and period, consider a woodpecker that drums upon a tree at a periodic rate. If the woodpecker drums upon a tree 2 times in one second, then the frequency is 2 Hz.
To find the swing's period, we need to know the time it takes to complete one cycle. In this case, we are given that it takes 2 seconds for the swing to complete one cycle.
The period (T) of a swing represents the time it takes to complete one full cycle. Therefore, the period of the swing in this case is 2 seconds.
The frequency (f) of the swing represents the number of cycles completed per second. It is the reciprocal of the period, meaning that frequency is equal to 1 divided by the period.
To find the frequency, we can use the formula:
f = 1 / T
Substituting the value of T into the formula:
f = 1 / 2
Therefore, the frequency of the swing is 1/2 cycles per second or 0.5 Hz.