A small metallic bob suspended by a light 

inextensible string from a rigid support,

such that it is free to oscillate without friction about a point, is called a simple
pendulum.

Terms Related to Simple Pendulum

 Mean Position: When a freely suspended pendulum is at rest, then this
position of the bob is called mean position or rest position.  
 Extreme Position: The position of the bob at the maximum distance from
the mean position is called extreme position. There are two extreme
positions on either side of the mean position.
 Length of the Pendulum: The distance between the point of suspension to
the centre of gravity of the bob is called the length of the pendulum. 
 Oscillatory Motion: The bob of the pendulum moves to and fro along the
same path and passes through the mean position. This type of motion is
called oscillatory motion.
 Oscillation: The complete to and fro motion of the pendulum constitutes one complete
oscillation. 
 Amplitude: The maximum displacement of the pendulum, i.e., the
displacement between the mean position and the extreme position, is
called its amplitude.
 Time Period: The time taken by an oscillating pendulum to make one
complete oscillation is called its time period.
 Frequency: The number of oscillations made by the pendulum in one
second is called its frequency of oscillation. The unit for frequency in the
SI system is the hertz (Hz).

Laws of Simple Pendulum

There are three laws that govern the time period of a simple pendulum.
 The first law states that the period of oscillation of a simple pendulum of
constant length is independent of its amplitude, provided the amplitude is
small.
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 The second law states that the period of oscillation of a simple pendulum
of constant length is independent of the size, shape, mass and material of
the bob, provided it is not very light.
 The third law states that the time period of oscillation of a simple
pendulum is directly proportional to the square root of the length of the
pendulum, for a given place.

Factors on Which the Time Period Depends

 The time period varies directly with the square root of the length of the
pendulum, i.e., T ∝ √l. 
 The time period varies inversely with the square root of the acceleration due to gravity, i.e.
T ∝ √(1/g).

From the above T ∝ √(l/g).

It has been found experimentlly that the time period of a freely oscillating pendulum
is given by

T = 2π√(l/g)

where l  is the length of the pendulum and g the acceleration due to gravity at a given
place. From this expression, it is clear that as the length of the pendulum increases,
its time period increases too.

Second's Pendulum

A pendulum which has a time period of two seconds is called a second's pendulum.
The length of a second's pendulum is 1 m and its frequency is 0.5 Hz.