SPS SPS SM Statistics 2022 February — Question 7

Exam BoardSPS
ModuleSPS SM Statistics (SPS SM Statistics)
Year2022
SessionFebruary
TopicLaws of Logarithms

7. The time, \(T\) seconds, that a pendulum takes to complete one swing is modelled by the formula $$T = a l ^ { b }$$ where \(l\) metres is the length of the pendulum and \(a\) and \(b\) are constants.
  1. Show that this relationship can be written in the form $$\log _ { 10 } T = b \log _ { 10 } l + \log _ { 10 } a$$ \begin{figure}[h]
    \includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{59120894-c480-492b-a304-106ddbadacf0-18_613_926_699_699} \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Figure 3}
    \end{figure} A student carried out an experiment to find the values of the constants \(a\) and \(b\).
    The student recorded the value of \(T\) for different values of \(l\).
    Figure 3 shows the linear relationship between \(\log _ { 10 } l\) and \(\log _ { 10 } T\) for the student's data. The straight line passes through the points \(( - 0.7,0 )\) and \(( 0.21,0.45 )\) Using this information,
  2. find a complete equation for the model in the form $$T = a l ^ { b }$$ giving the value of \(a\) and the value of \(b\), each to 3 significant figures.
  3. With reference to the model, interpret the value of the constant \(a\).
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