---
title: Swings and pendulums — how Mova does on the tests · Physics
description: Lesson 10 of the physics course of Mova's primary school: 9 of 11 tests right, exam 2 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Swings and pendulums

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**Tests:** 9 of 11 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★★ · **Understood:** 6 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 10 of the physics course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/).

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/).

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### Test 1 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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My mate says if you push the swing harder it'll go back and forth way faster. right?

- **1.** Yes, hard pushes speed up the rhythm — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** No, it takes much longer — no support
- **3.** Yes, twice as hard means twice as fast — no support
- **4.** No, it goes higher but takes about the same time — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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What would happen to a swing in a room with no air and perfect hinges?

- **1.** It would swing faster and faster — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** It would swing for ever — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** It would swing higher and higher — no support
- **4.** It would stop at once — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t3}

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In Newton's cradle you swing two balls in. What happens?

- **1.** All the balls swing together — no support
- **2.** Two balls fly out the other side — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **3.** One ball flies out twice as fast — score 2
- **4.** Nothing moves at all — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 10, line 16: «In Newton's cradle, swing one ball in and one flies out the other side, swing two in and two fly out, because the knock passes through the still balls.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «fly out» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t4}

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you're at the top of the swing and your tummy goes weird. why

- **1.** Your stomach gets heavier at the top — no support
- **2.** You stop for an instant and press less on the seat — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 5
- **3.** The chains pull you upwards — no support
- **4.** The air presses on your tummy — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 10, line 12: «At the top of a swing you stop for an instant and feel almost weightless; at the bottom you feel heaviest, because the swing pulls you round the curve.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «stop» (+3); the same circumstance (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t5}

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Your grandfather clock runs slow. Which way do you move the weight?

- **1.** Down, to make the pendulum longer — score 4
- **2.** Up, to make the pendulum shorter — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 5
- **3.** Nowhere, clean the face — no support
- **4.** Off, to make it lighter — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 2 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 10, line 11: «A grandfather clock counts the swings of its pendulum, and clockmakers move a little weight up or down to make it run faster or slower: moving it up makes the…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+2); the same thing acted on «pendulum» (+2); the same property (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t6}

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A pendulum is made four times longer. What happens to its swing time?

- **1.** It takes twice as long — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** It takes four times as long — no support
- **3.** It stays exactly the same — no support
- **4.** It takes half as long — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t7}

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In a cartoon a pendulum keeps swinging higher and higher with nobody pushing. Is that real?

- **1.** Yes, if the room is warm — no support
- **2.** No, it would stop at once — no support
- **3.** No, it would swing lower and lower — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 5
- **4.** Yes, pendulums always speed up as they go — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 10, line 9: «A short pendulum swings quickly and a long one slowly; one four times as long takes twice as long to swing.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «swing» (+3); the same doer «short pendulum» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t8}

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Why must the area round a wrecking ball be cleared of people?

- **1.** The ball can swing back towards the crane — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **2.** The ball might float away — score 3
- **3.** The noise is far too loud for people's ears to bear — no support
- **4.** The building pulls the ball in — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 10, line 15: «A wrecking ball gets its power from its height and weight, and it can swing back, so the area is cleared of people.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «swing back» (+4); the same doer «ball» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t9}

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More water in the singing glass. What happens to the note?

- **1.** It gets lower — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** It stops completely — no support
- **3.** It stays the same — no support
- **4.** It gets higher — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t10}

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How is a roller coaster like a swing?

- **1.** It always goes back and forth — no support
- **2.** It is pushed by a person — no support
- **3.** It swaps height and speed on every hill — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 12
- **4.** It has the same rhythm as a clock — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 3 with score 12, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 10, line 13: «A swing is fastest at the bottom and slowest at the top, and a roller coaster swaps height and speed the same way.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «swap» (+4); the same doer «roller coaster» (+4); the same thing acted on «height» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t11}

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Which would swing back and forth the fastest?

- **1.** A short swing in the toddlers' park — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** A long swing on a tall frame in the big park — no support
- **3.** A tall swing with a heavy child — no support
- **4.** A long rope swing over a river — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/t11/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓ {#e1}

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the determinant of the period of a simple pendulum of modest amplitude?

- **1.** Its length — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** The mass of its bob — no support
- **3.** The material of its cord — no support
- **4.** The force of the initial push — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓ {#e2}

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Identify the principal reason for which a body of soldiers is instructed to break step upon crossing a bridge.

- **1.** Regular impulses matching the natural rhythm of the bridge could increase its oscillation — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Marching renders the soldiers heavier upon the bridge — no support
- **3.** The noise of marching disturbs the inhabitants nearby — no support
- **4.** The tread of soldiers wears away the surface of the bridge — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3}

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It is given that a child is seated upon a swing in motion. Ascertain the position at which the speed of the swing is greatest.

- **1.** A point midway towards the top — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The speed is uniform throughout — no support
- **3.** The lowest point of its path — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The highest point of its path — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4}

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Determine the effect upon the period of a swing of the substitution of a heavier rider for a lighter rider.

- **1.** The period is considerably shortened — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The period is considerably lengthened — no support
- **3.** The swing ceases to oscillate — no support
- **4.** The period remains unaltered — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/physics/10-swings-and-pendulums/e4/)

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- ← previous: [9. Riding a bike: why it stays up](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/physics/9-riding-a-bike/)
- next →: [11. Floating and sinking: the push of the water](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/physics/11-floating-and-sinking/)
- ↑ back to [Physics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/physics/)