AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY–BANGLADESH (AIUB)

FACULTY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
PHYSICS 1 LAB
Spring 2021-2022

Section: ___B1___, Group: ___7_____

LAB REPORT ON
To determine the acceleration due to gravity applying linear least square
regression method by using a simple pendulum.

Supervised By
SUPERVISOR’S NAME

Submitted By
Name ID Contribution
1.Paul Sharon kumar 22-46038-1 20%
2.Mohammad Towhidul Islam 22-46040-1 20%
3.Nuruzzaman Md 22-46042-1 20%
4.Rokonuzzaman Md 22-46044-1 20%
5.Chowdhury Jakaria 22-46046-1 20%
6.
 Date of Submission: 02- 09- 2022

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPICS Page no.

I. Title Page 1
II. Table of Content 3
1. Theory 4
2. Apparatus 7
3. Procedure 7
4. Experimental Data 8
5. Analysis and Calculation 10
6. Result 11
7. Discussion 12
8. References 13
9. Appendices

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 1. Theory
The period of the motion for a pendulum is how long it takes to swing back-and-forth,
measured in seconds. The equation for the period of a simple pendulum starting at a
small angle θ (theta – A Greek letter) is:

T = 2π√(L/g)

where
• T is the period in seconds (s)
• π is the Greek letter pi and is approximately 3.14
• √ is the square root of what is included in the parentheses
• L is the length of the rod or wire in meters or feet
• g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s² or 32 ft/s² on Earth

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Figure 1 : A swinging simple pendulum with an effective length L and amplitude θ.

The time period equation of a simple pendulum can be rearranged as

If we Compare this time period equation with the state line equation which is go through the
origin (y = mx) then we can find the acceleration due to gravity can be determined by

where m is the slope of the 𝑻^𝟐 vs L graph.

Let us consider two variables, x & y [y = f(x)]. These are plotted on a graph with values of x
on the x-axis values of y on the y-axis. These values are represented by the dots in the below
graph. A straight line is drawn through the dots – referred to find the best fitted line
(regression line) as the fig. 2 shows

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Figure 2: Way to get the best fitted line by finding the minimum value of

according to the least square regression method. The equation for the best fitted line is y =
mx + c, where m is the slope and c is the interception in the y axis. Here the number of data
points is taken as N=7.

The formula for determining the slope of the regression line

(slope equation)

and intercept 𝐜 = 𝐲̅- m 𝐱̅, where x̅ and y̅ are mean value of x and y.

In the slope equation:

• Metal bob.

• A piece of string.

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 2. Apparatus

• Metal bob.

• A piece of string

• Stand.

• Clamp.

• Meter scale.

• Stopwatch

3. Procedure
First, we have to attach a light piece of string with the hook of the metal bob, then we
find the length L of the pendulum with a meter scale from the point of suspension to
the mid-point of the bob.
Secondly, we have to Give a small angle (less than 10 degrees) swing to the
pendulum and find the time period, T. To do it, we have to measure the total time for
20 oscillations and divide it by 20. After that, Repeat the procedure for different
lengths and record the data in table. Then, we have to using the Linear Least Square
Regression Method (LLSRM) to find the regression line and from the value of slope
and find g from the relation: slope = 4π2 /g.
Lastly, we are going to plot the same graph in Excel and then we find the value of g
from the equation of the g

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 4. Experimental Data
No. of Effective Time for 20 Time 𝑇2 𝐿2 L.𝑇 2
Obs. Length L Oscillations period (𝑠 2 ) (𝑐𝑚2 ) (cm.𝑠 2 )
(cm) t (s) T = t/20
(s)
1 150 48.45 2.4225 5.869

2 140 46.48 2.324 5.401

3 130 45.83 2.2915 5.251

4 120 43.71 2.1855 4.776

5 110 42.33 2.1165 4.4796

6 100 39.26 1.963 3.853

7 90 38.09 1.904 3.627

∑ 840 304.15 15.207

B. The value of g from the graph of Excel:

Length L 𝑇2

150 5.869

140 5.401

130 5.251

120 4.776

110 4.4796

100 3.853

90 3.627

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Lab Report Department of Physics Page 9 of 14
 5. Analysis and Calculation

Slope of the regression line, m = 0.0378

4𝜋
Acceleration due to gravity by Excel, 𝑔𝐸 = 𝑚

4∗(3.1416)2
= 0.0378

𝑔𝐸 = 1044.41 cm𝑠 −2

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 6. Result

Method Value of 𝑔𝐸 (m𝑠 −2 )

Excel 10.44

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 7. Discussion
From the analysis done on an excel spreadsheet, the gravitational acceleration g was
found as cm/s2. This practical value did not agree with the theoretical value of cm/s2
due to uncertainties in the experiment, which accounted for m/s2. The test is a simple
one and from the analysis process of the simple pendulum equation, it interprets that
the only factor affecting the period of an oscillating object about a center pivot is the
length from the Centre of the mass and the gravitational acceleration. The period T of
oscillation is, therefore, does not depend on other factors such as the mass of the
body. For oscillators operating under simple harmonics, the period is nearly
independent of the amplitude for cases where angular displacement θ is small (≤ 10o).
The simple pendulum concept finds use in devices such as pendulum clocks.
However, the results obtained were not accurate due to uncertainties and errors
arising from the experiment. The errors include the lag in stopping the stopwatch after
Lab Report Department of Physics Page 10 of 10 the oscillations, parallax errors in
reading the angular displacement, and the random errors in taking measurements such
as lengths of the pendulum .

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 8. References
: Acceleration due to gravity (Chapter 13, page 360), Simple pendulum (Chapter 15,
page 425-426)

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