Past exam of the physics 1 paper of the University of Oxford / 2017 resit / 11 / d

Take the positive coordinate from $O$ toward $S$. The centre of mass of the remaining material has coordinateThus $SX=a+a/6=7a/6$. If $\varphi$ is the small angular displacement from the stable hanging orientation, gravity gives torque $-(3m/4)g(7a/6)\sin \varphi$ about the suspension point. The physical pendulum equation isUsing the small-angle approximation $\sin \varphi \simeq \varphi$ gives simple harmonic motion withBoth the reduced mass and displaced centre of mass matter; changing only the moment of inertia would give an incorrect frequency.