Student practical P1.

2
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

Investigating pendulums
Specification references
 P 1.1.1 Energy stores and systems, P 1.2.1 Energy transfers in a system
 WS 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.5
 MS 4a

Background
The law of conservation of energy says that energy cannot be created or
destroyed. In this activity you will experiment with a pendulum to see if its total
energy store stays the same during a single swing from one side to the other.

Learning objectives
After completing the practical you should be able to:
 compare or measure the release height and swing height of a pendulum
 explain whether your observations support the idea that energy is conserved.

Safety
 Before releasing the pendulum, make sure that it will not hit objects or
people nearby. Ensure the clamp stand is securely clamped to the bench with a
G-clamp.

Equipment and materials

 Pendulum bob on string (or thread)  Equipment for comparing or measuring pendulum
 Clamp stand and two clamps heights (e.g. clamped horizontal rod or string, or
paper stuck to wall behind pendulum)
 Two blocks of wood
 Nail (or rod or dowel)
 G-clamp
 Graph paper

Method and results

1 Use the G-clamp to firmly attach the base of the clamp stand to the bench.
2 Clamp the pendulum’s string between the two blocks of wood using one of the clamps. The
pendulum needs to swing without hitting the bench.
3 You will be comparing the pendulum’s release height with the height it reaches on the opposite side.
Your teacher will ask you to either:
a only record (to within about half a centimetre) whether the height reached is the same as, higher
than, or lower than the release height
b mark the heights which the pendulum reaches on paper set up behind the pendulum, and
measure the height difference between release height and height on the opposite side.

© Oxford University Press 2016: www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 1
 Student practical P1.2
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

4 Each time you release the pendulum in this experiment, you will release it from the same height.
This height should be about a quarter of the way up the pendulum’s string. Set up your equipment
ready for comparing or measuring swing heights.
5 Release the pendulum and compare/measure the height it reaches on the other side.
6 Clamp the nail at a height about a quarter of the way down the pendulum’s string (at position ‘1’ on
the diagram).
7 Release the pendulum so that the string is blocked by the nail as the string passes the vertical.
Compare/measure the height the bob reaches on the other side of the swing.
8 Repeat step 7, first with the nail clamped at a height about half-way down (position ‘2’), and then at
about three quarters of the way down (position ‘3’).
9 Clamp the nail lower than three quarters of the way down the string (position ‘4’).
10 Release the pendulum, and write a short description of your observations.

Results
Record your height comparisons or measurements in an organised way. If you are
recording height comparisons only, you could use a table like the one below.

Height reached by pendulum on opposite side

(higher/lower/same)
Normal swing
1
Nail 4 way down pendulum string
1
Nail 2 way down pendulum string
3
Nail 4 way down pendulum string

© Oxford University Press 2016: www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 2
 Student practical P1.2
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

Questions
1 As the pendulum swung downwards towards its lowest point:
a what happened to its speed?

(1 mark)

b which of its energy stores decreased?

(1 mark)

c which of its energy stores increased?

(1 mark)

11 The nail shortens the pendulum and changes the shape of its swing. When the nail was at positions
1, 2, or 3:
a Describe the effect of the nail on the height reached by the pendulum.

(1 mark)

b Does the nail affect the pendulum’s total energy? Explain your answer.

(3 marks)

12 State and explain whether your observations support the idea that energy is conserved.

(2 marks)

13 Suggest a way of measuring pendulum heights more accurately.

(1 mark)

14 Explain, in terms of energy, what happened when the nail was at position 4.

(2 marks)

© Oxford University Press 2016: www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 3
 Student practical P1.2
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

15 Suggest two ways to increase the size of the energy transfers during a pendulum swing.

(2 marks)

Follow-up
A student uses a motion sensor to measure the speed of a pendulum at the
bottom of its swing when the pendulum is released from different heights. Her
results are shown below.

Release height in m Speed at bottom of swing in m/s

0.05 0.9
0.10 1.4
0.15 1.7
0.20 2.0
0.25 2.2

1 What is the independent variable in this experiment?

(1 mark)

16 Plot a graph of speed at the bottom of the swing (y-axis) versus release height (x-axis). Draw a best
fit line. (6 marks)
17 Describe the relationship between release height and speed.

(2 marks)

18 Explain why the release height affects the speed.

(2 marks)

Go to https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/pendulum-lab and run the

simulation.
1
Change from ‘real time’ to ‘ 4 time’ (near the middle left of the control panel).
This slows down the simulation, making it easier to see what is happening.
Leave all other settings as they are. Pull the pendulum to an angle of 30° and
let it go.

© Oxford University Press 2016: www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 4
 Student practical P1.2
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

19 Where in its swing (middle, end, or somewhere in between) does the pendulum have
a its largest gravitational potential energy store?

(1 mark)

b its largest kinetic energy store?

(1 mark)

Click on ‘Show energy of: 1’. You will see a bar chart which shows the kinetic
energy (KE) and gravitational potential energy (PE) of the pendulum. Use the
graph to check your answers to a and b.
20 The motion of this pendulum is unrealistic: real pendulums do not swing forever. Move the ‘friction’
slider (which is about half-way down the control panel) to half-way along the scale. Explain why the
pendulum eventually stops swinging.

(2 marks)

Extension
21 Move the ‘friction’ slider back to zero. For each of the following, start the pendulum from an angle of
30°. Describe and explain, in terms of energy, any difference between how the pendulum behaves
now and how it behaved originally. Use the energy bar chart to help you.
a Double the mass of the pendulum (move the ‘mass’ slider, near the top of the control panel, from
1 kg to 2 kg).

(2 marks)

b Set the pendulum’s mass back to 1 kg. Now put the pendulum on the Moon. (Hint: the Moon’s
gravitational field is weaker than Earth’s).

(3 marks)

© Oxford University Press 2016: www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 5
 Student practical P1.2
Name ...................................................................... Class .................. Date .....................

c Put the pendulum on Jupiter. (Hint: Jupiter’s gravitational field is stronger than Earth’s).

(3 marks)

d Stop the pendulum and the put it into deep space (by selecting ‘g  0’).

(2 marks)

© Oxford University Press 2016: www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original. 6