Topic

Investigating the relationship between mass and the period of a cantilever

Research Question
How does the mass (/g ±0.5g;100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700) in a cantilever system affect the period of
oscillation as measured by the time taken for a metre rule attached at one side to a bench to oscillate 20 times after
its other side is displaced from its mean position and allowed to oscillate?

Hypothesis
The period of oscillation of the cantilever will increase as the mass in the system is increased.

This is due to the relationship between period and mass, stated as 𝑇 = 2π√𝑚/𝑘. From this, an increase
in mass will lead to an increase in the coefficient of 2π, which will increase the value of the period.

Apparatus
● 1 Metre Rule
● Masking Tape
● 7 100 gram masses
● Stopwatch
● Bench
● G clamp

Method
1. Attach the metre rule to the table using the G clamp, ensuring that the distance from the edge of
the table to the end of the ruler is significant to allow the oscillations to be easily measured.
2. Attach a 100 gram mass to the very edge of the metre rule with masking tape.
3. Set a stopwatch to zero and slightly displace the free edge of the rule which has the mass
attached.
4. Release the hold on the rule and immediately start the timer.
5. Count for 20 oscillations before stopping the stopwatch.
6. Repeat the experiment 5 times for each unique mass.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 for masses of 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 (±0.5g).

Variables
● Independent variable: Mass [attached to cantilever]
● [Processed] Dependent variable: Period of cantilever system
● Controlled Variables: Distance from edge of bench to edge of rule (0.892m), stopwatch used, metre rule
used.

Data
● Quantitative Data
Table 1.1: A Table Showing the Mass, and the Time Taken for 20 Oscillations in 5 Experiments for each Unique
Mass

Mass/ Time Taken for 20 oscillations/ (s) ±0.05s

(g)±0.5g
 Experiment 1 Experiment 2 Experiment 3 Experiment 4 Experiment 5

100 6.50 6.35 6.46 6.31 6.31

200 8.12 8.57 8.28 8.03 8.09

300 10.38 10.13 10.22 9.82 9.75

400 11.63 11.75 11.75 11.37 11.25

500 13.12 13.00 13.32 13.12 12.44

600 13.56 13.94 13.88 13.72 13.65

700 15.00 15.00 14.72 14.84 15.19

Table 1.2: A Table Showing the Mass, and the Time Taken for 20 Oscillations in 5 Experiments for each Unique
Mass

Mass/ (g)±0.5g Average Time Period of oscillation/(s)

Taken for 20
oscillations/ (s)

100 6.39 0.32 ±0.0008

200 8.22 0.41 ±0.0005

300 10.06 0.50 ±0.0004

400 11.55 0.58 ±0.0004

500 13 0.65 ±0.0003

600 13.75 0.69 ±0.0003

700 15.55 0.78 ±0.0003

Processed Uncertainties
The uncertainties for the time taken and the mass were calculated by calculating half of the minimum
reading on the instrument (stopwatch and metre rule)
𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦 = 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔/2

The uncertainty of the period was calculated using the conventional principles for finding uncertainties.
These were applied based on the equation 𝑇 = 2π√𝑚/𝑘. Thus:
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑇 = 1/2(𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚/𝑚) * 𝑇. The uncertainties were found for each value of the period
as (0.0008, 0.0005, 0.0004, 0.0004, 0.0003, 0.0003, 0.0003) s respectively.
Qualitative Data
It was observed that as the mass was increased, the time taken for the metre rule to oscillate 20 times increased, and
thus it took longer to complete each experiment as the mass increased.

Graph
After conducting the experiment and collecting the data shown above, a graph of period of oscillation against mass
was plotted, and the following graph was obtained:

Figure 1.1: A Figure Showing the Period of Osciallation against the Mass

As expected, the graph above shows a power relationship between the period and the mass. Per the equation
𝑇 = 2π√𝑚/𝑘, the period varies directly with the mass to the power 0.5, whereas here, the relationship
between period and mass is a direct one, but the period here varies with the mass to the power 0.4563,
thus, there is a variation in the factor of the power by about 0.0447.

In order to linearize the data, a graph of period squared versus mass was plotted:

Figure 1.2: A Graph of Period Squared against Mass

As shown in the graph above, there is a linear relationship between the period and the mass, which is as
expected due to the equation T^2 = (4π^2)(m/k).

Conclusion
From the results above, it can be seen that there is as the mass in a cantilever system increases, the period
of oscillation in the system increases.