In the standard derivation of pendulum characteristics, at least through high school
and undergraduate Physics, an approximation is always made that assumes a small
angular displacement.
With that assumption, the angular displacement doesn't appear in the formula for
the period, i.e. the period depends on the pendulum's effective length, and is
independent of the angular displacement.
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The length of the pendulum is measured from the pendulum's point of suspension to the center of mass of its bob. Its amplitude is the string's angular displacement from its vertical or its equilibrium position.
For small swings, and a simple pendulum:T = 2 pi root(L/g) where T is the time for one period, L is the length of the pendulum, and g is the strength of the gravitational field.
The period of a simple pendulum is given by the formulaT = 2*pi*sqrt(L/g)where T = periodL = lengthand g = local acceleration due to gravity.Note that this formula is applicable only when the angular displacement of the pendulum is small. For a displacement of 22.5 degrees (a quarter of a right angle), the true period is approx 1% longer : a clock will lose more than 1/2 a minute every hour!
Actually, the period of a pendulum does depend slightly on the amplitude. But at low amplitudes, it almost doesn't depend on the amplitude at all. This is related to the fact that in such a case, the restoring force - the force that pulls the pendulum back to its center position - is proportional to the displacement. That is, if the pendulum moves away further, the restoring force will also be greater.
A longer pendulum has a longer period.