Name:  Period:   
 
Pendulum Lab 
Link to Simulation 
Pick Lab - not intro or Energy 
Video Lesson Instructions 
Turn Period timer on 
 
Essential Question: W
​ hat affects the period of a pendulum: mass, amplitude, or string length? 
 
 
Part 1: ​What happens to the period when we change the ​Mass​ ​of the pendulum? 
 
String Length and Amplitude need to stay the same through this part of the activity 
 
String Length: .70 m   Amplitude (degrees): 50 degrees 

We want to keep these two things consistent and only change the mass while measuring the period. They are called the 
controlled variables of the experiment 
 
Table 1: Changing the Mass of the Pendulum 
 
Period (seconds) 
(Y) 
Mass in kg  While the pendulum is swinging hit the play button on the 
(X)  period timer, record time below.   
Round to 10th place value - example instead of 1.1345 just 
write 1.1 

.25   

.50   

.75   

1.00   

1.25   
 
 
 
● Graph 1: Period vs Mass of a Pendulum: number each line on both axis by .1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Part 2: ​What happens to the period when we change the ​Amplitude​ (drop point)of the pendulum? 
 
String Length and Mass need to stay the same through this entire part of the activity 
 
String Length: ​.70 m   Mass: 1​ .00 Kg 

We want to keep these two things consistent and only change the amplitude while measuring the period. They are called the 
controlled variables of the experiment 
 
Table 2: Changing the Amplitude (drop Point) of the Pendulum 
 
Period (seconds) 
(Y) 
While the pendulum is swinging hit the play button on the 
Amplitude (degrees) 
period timer, record time below. Do it twice for each weight 
(X) 
to make sure you did it correctly, you should get the same 
number 
Round to 10th place value - instead of 1.1345 just write 1.1 

15   

30   

45   

60   

75   
 
 
 
 
● Graph 2: Period vs. Amplitude of a Pendulum: Y axis (period) each line by .1, X axis (Amplitude) each 
line by 5s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Part 3: W
​ hat happens to the period when we change the S
​ tring Length​ of the pendulum? 
 
Keep Amplitude and Mass consistent through this part of the investigation. 
 
Amplitude (degrees): ​20  Mass: 1​ .50 kg 

We want to keep these two things consistent and only change the string length while measuring the period. They are called 
the controlled variables of the experiment 
 
Table 3: Changing the String Length of the Pendulum 
 
Period (seconds) 
(Y) 
String Length (m) 
While the pendulum is swinging hit the play button on the 
(X) 
period timer, record time below. Round to 10th place value - 
instead of 1.1345 just write 1.1 

.30   

.40   

.50   

.60   

.70   
 
 
 
● Graph 3: Period vs. String Length of a Pendulum: Y axis (period) each line by .1, X axis (String 
Length) every other line by .10. Insert this graph into a drawing, then paste it in. We need to draw 
on this during the questions. 
 
 
   
Conclusion Questions (Answer in Red please) 
 
1. Which of the three variables (mass, amplitude, or string Length) changed the period of the pendulum the 
most​? Explain your answer by talking about what the trendline on your graphs is showing for each of the 3 
variables. 
 
 
 
 
2. Use your Period vs. String Length graph (#3) to predict how to make a clock with a 1.00 second period. 
Extrapolate with arrows, what is your string length prediction? 
 
 
 
3. Now make the clock (set the string length in the simulation) and test it. How close was it to 1.0000 
seconds? What do you have to do to get to be exactly 1.00 seconds, explain the string length and the 
amplitude you have to drop it from.