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Experiment 3: Simple Pendulum

PHY 121 827118

Name

Lab Partner:

Lab instructor:

Date
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Objectives

The aim of the experiment was to find out the effect of amplitude, length and mass on the period

of an oscillating pendulum, as well as finding g which is the gravitational pull. Different masses

and amplitude were varied using a pendulum at fixed length. When determining effect of length

on period of pendulum, different lengths were used at fixed mass.

Introduction

A simple pendulum comprises a small bob which is mass of a body that is suspended on a non-

elastic string massless string of a measured length L. The period T of a pendulum’s oscillation

ids the amount of time required to complete one cycle from one point of displacement to the

other and back again. The variables that are used to determine the period of an oscillating

pendulum are; amplitude of the oscillation denoted by, θ, Amplitude is taken as the angle of

displacement of the oscillating body from its equilibrium position. The length of the pendulum L.

Length is the measure of the distance between the point of suspension and the centers of the

attached mass (bob). The acceleration because of gravity g and mass of the suspended body m.

For unit analysis we have

L
T∝
√ g

Therefore, for the small amplitude the period of the oscillation is defined as;

L
T =2 π
√ g

Frequency and period are inversely proportional

1
f=
T

Therefore, oscillation can be defined in terms of frequency such that;

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1 L
f=
2π √ g

Apparatus used in this experiment

The experiment used the following simulation:

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/pendulum-lab/latest/pendulum-lab_en.html

Experiment Procedure:

Period as a function of amplitude (plot T vs. θ):

For the variation between amplitude and period amplitudes of 5, 10, 15 were used and then

from 20 to 70 with intervals of 10. The mass and length of the string were kept constant. The

oscillations were done using the slow option using the simulation. Using Period Trace in the

simulation allowed for tracing of complete oscillation while stopwatch measured time for each

oscillations.

Period as a function of length (plot T vs. L):

An angle of 10 was used when determining period as function of length and remained constant

throughout. The length of the string was first set at 0.30m and the pendulum allowed to oscillate

while obtaining the period. The procedure was repeated for lengths .40 m, 0.50 m, 0.60 m, 0.80

m, 0.90 m and 1.0 m.

Period as a function of mass (plot T vs. m):

An amplitude of 10 was used in this experiment while varying masses. The length and

amplitude were also kept constant. Period was then recorded for each mass starting from 1 kg as

well as those of 0.2 kg, 0.5 kg, 1.2 kg, 1.5 kg.
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Calculations

The numerical results of our measurements are presented in tables below:

Period as a function of amplitude (plot T vs. θ):

Length=0.70 m; Mass=1.00kg

PART I: T vs. θ
θ T
[] [s]
5 1.47 s
10 1.14 s
15 1.20 s
20 1.19 s
30 1.32 s
40 1.72 s
50 1.52 s
60 1.49 s
70 1.61 s

Period as a function of length (plot T vs. L):

Theta=10˚; Mass=50k

If plotting T2 vs L,
PART II: T vs. L
calculate T2
L T T2
[m] [s] [s2]
0.40 1.17
0.50 1.47
0.60 1.42
0.70 1.50
0.80 1.67
0.90 1.76
1.00 1.72
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Period as a function of mass (plot T vs. m):

Length=1.00; Theta=10˚

PART II: T vs. m

m T
[kg] [s]
0.20 1.69 s
0.50 1.84 s
1.00 1.93 s
1.20 2.14 s
1.50 2.50 s

Calculations

Determination of g

L
From the simulation and using the equation T =2 π
√ g
the gravitational pull was found to be

11.66 ± 0.4975 with a correlation of 0.9066. This was a slightly higher than that of the earth

9.807 m/s² with a percent error of 18.85%

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Questions.

1. The dependence of the Period on the angle

Making assumptions of the smaller angles, the period and the frequency of a pendulum do not

depend on the angle or otherwise initial angular displacement. Therefore, a pendulum is going to

have a similar period irrespective of the initial angle. In an illustration, the pendulums complete a

cycle in an equal amount of time despite the angle.

2. The dependence of the Period on the length

The period of a pendulum depends on the length of the string therefore the longer the string the

longer the period. The longer string affects the frequency as it will take more type to complete a

cycle than a shorter string in a particular amount of time

3. The dependence of the Period on the mass

The period of a pendulum does not depend on the mass. Therefore, two pendula that have

different masses and the same length will have the same period. Also when two pendula are used

but with different lengths of same masses, the result will be two different periods. The pendulum

made of long string will have a longer period.

4. For the simple pendulum where is the maximum for: displacement, velocity and

acceleration?

For a simple harmonic motion, the displacement will be directly proportional to acceleration.

Therefore, increasing the distance from the pendulums equilibrium point increases displacement

as well as acceleration. Acceleration at amplitude of 90° C will have a large displacement and

acceleration that 45 ° C. Velocity is inversely proportional to distance from the pendulum’s

equilibrium. Velocity will be maximum when the pendulum passes through the equilibrium or

mean position and acceleration will be 0.

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5. Would the period increase or decrease if the experiments were held on a) the top of a

high mountain? b) The Moon? c) Jupiter?

Period increases because the frequency in moon will decrease because of low gravitational pull

the pendulum is bound to oscillate in less frequency. In Jupiter due to high gravitational pull,

period will decrease. Changing altitude slightly changes the period since one is moving away

from earth

6. A grandfather clock has a weight at the bottom of the pendulum that can be moved up or

down. If the clock is running fast, what should you do to adjust the time properly?

When the clock is running faster one can displace the bob down

Discussion

For a simple harmonic motion, the period is affected by length as well as acceleration because of

gravity. If the length of a pendulum is known, it can therefore be used to calculate the

2π 2π
acceleration due to gravity using the equation T = √ L where the slope( A)= when fitted
√g √g
in an equation y= A x n .However, period is nearly independent of other factors such as mass and

amplitude or angle of displacement particularly when the angle of displacement is less than 15º.

Having a lower gravitational pull means that the period increases and since the frequency

1 L
decreases. This is true for the equation f =
2π √ g
where gravitational pull is inversely

proportional to frequency. A pendulum can thus be used to adjust time on clocks. The length of

the pendulum determines how faster it swings. Therefore, changing the effective length by

lowering or extending the pendulum bob as raising makes clock run faster. Some errors might

occur resulting in the errors obtained in measuring the acceleration due to gravity. A random
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error might have occurred during timing. Time was stopped as it approached maximum height

and it could not have been consistent all through.

Conclusion

The objectives of the practical were achieved. Period was confirmed to be dependent on length

and acceleration due to gravity and independent of amplitude and mass od suspended body. The

experimentally measured acceleration due to gravity was 11.66 ± 0.4975and this was a slightly

higher than that of the earth 9.807 m/s² giving a percent error of 18.85%. A random error due to

measurement of time could have resulted to such errors. Using more amplitude and measuring

less oscillations could help provide more precise value of g.

Works cited

Pendulum waves: http://sciphile.org/lessons/pendulum-waves

Pendulum—Example problems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haDgqRLb1LI

Pili, Unofre, and Renante Violanda. "A simple pendulum-based measurement of g with a

smartphone light sensor." Physics Education 53.4 (2018): 043001.

Simple Pendulum http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pend.html

Suwanpayak, N., et al. "A comparison of gravitational acceleration measurement methods for

undergraduate experiment." Journal of Physics: Conference Series. Vol. 1144. No. 1.

IOP Publishing, 2018.

The Pendulum and Galileo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpzaCCbX-z4

Wang, Qiaochu, et al. "A new method of measuring gravitational acceleration in an

undergraduate laboratory program." European Journal of Physics 39.1 (2017): 015701.

What Affects the Period of a Pendulum? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKOb6fC5p80

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Appendix