Silliman University

Physics 1
Simple Pendulum Activity

Name: _______________________________
General Instructions: Do the activity at home. This must be submitted online. Save it in pdf file
format. Read and understand the theory before proceeding with the activity.

Objectives
1. To study the variation of the period of a simple pendulum with its length.
2. To show that the period of the simple pendulum does not depend on the mass and the shape of
the pendulum.
3. To determine experimentally the value of gravitational acceleration g.

Theory
A simple pendulum is made up of a small body of mass m suspended by a string of length L
such that the mass of the body is very much larger than that of the string and the size of the body
is very small compared to the length of the string. Pulling the body to one side produces two
components of the body’s weight w = mg; F’ perpendicular to the string and F” parallel to
the string. It is F’ that pulls the body back to its equilibrium position. If the displacement
produces only a small angle of swing f, the motion of the simple pendulum is approximately simple
harmonic with a period given by:

T = 2p L/g

Notice that (a) the period is proportional to the square root of the length of the pendulum, (b)
the period is inversely proportional to the square root of gravity, g, and (c) the period does not
depend upon the mass of the pendulum. Thus when the length L is plotted against the square of
the period, a straight line is produced whose slope can be used to determine the value of the
gravitational acceleration g provided the angle of swing f is small.

Activity

Materials: 3 pieces of 5 cents, thread/string of different lengths, stick, cellphone timer

Procedure:
1. Tie the 3 pieces of 5 cents using a thread/string.
2. Suspend all 3 pieces of 5 cents to the stick in such a way that the 5 cents is hanging naturally.
3. Swing the 5 cents within a small arc (approximately 10 degrees angle from its initial position).
4. Take the time for 20 complete vibrations/swings. Record it in table 1.
5. Make 2 trials for 5 different lengths L of the pendulum.
6. Determine the period for each trial using the equation

time for N vibrations

T=
N
where N is the number of complete vibrations counted

7. Compute for the value of gravitational accelerations at the location of the laboratory using
4p2 L
g=
T2
8. Repeat the process using 5 pieces of 5 cents. Record it in table 2.
 Table 1 Three pieces of 5 cents

Mass of the three pieces of cents = __________________ g

L Time of 20 vibrations T g
(cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Ave. (s) (cm/s2)
20
40
60
80
100

Table 2 Five pieces of 5 cents

Mass of the five pieces of cents = __________________ g

L Time of 20 vibrations T g
(cm) Trial 1 Trial 2 Ave. (s) (cm/s2)
20
40
60
80
100

9. Plot your answer L against T2 for 3 pices 5 cents and 5 pieces 5 cents. Analyze the graph.