Large Amplitude Pendulum EX-9905 Page 1 of 4

Large Amplitude Pendulum

EQUIPMENT

1 Large Rod Stand ME-8735

1 45 cm Long Steel Rod ME-8736
1 Pendulum Accessory 003-05971
1 Rotary Motion Sensor CI-6538
Additional Equipment Required (not supplied)
1 500 Interface CI-6400
1 DataStudio

INTRODUCTION

This experiment explores the dependence of the period of a simple pendulum on the amplitude of
the oscillation. Also, the displacement, velocity, and acceleration for large amplitude are plotted
versus time to show the difference from the sinusoidal motion of low amplitude oscillations.

A rigid pendulum consists of a 35-cm long lightweight (28 g) aluminum tube with a 75-g mass
on each end, with the center of the tube mounted on a Rotary Motion Sensor. One of the masses
is slightly closer to the center than the other mass, so the pendulum will oscillate slowly to allow
time to view the motion of the pendulum while also watching the real-time graph of
displacement, velocity, and acceleration versus time.

The period is measured as a function of the amplitude of the pendulum and compared to theory.

THEORY

A simple pendulum consists of a point mass at a distance L away from a pivot point. In this
experiment, a mass is attached to a lightweight rod and the mass is concentrated enough to
assume it is a point mass and the rod's mass can be neglected.

The period of a physical pendulum is given by

I
To = 2π (1)
mgd

for small amplitude (less than 20o). I is the rotational inertia of the pendulum about the pivot
point, m is the total mass of the pendulum, and d is the distance from the pivot to the center of
mass.

Written by Ann Hanks

Large Amplitude Pendulum EX-9905 Page 2 of 4

For larger amplitudes, the restoring torque is not linear and the period is given by an infinite
series:

 p
 (2n − 1)!! 
2
2n  α 

T To 1 + ∑ 
=  sin    (2)
 n =1  2 n!   2  
n

where n is an integer and α is the amplitude (angle). The first five terms are given by
Equation (3):
  1 2 2  α   3 ⋅1 2 4  α   15 2 6  α   105 2 8  α  
T= To 1 +   sin   +  2  sin   +   sin   +   sin   + ...
  2   2   2 (2 ⋅1)   2   48   2   384  2 

To slow the oscillation, two masses are used with one mass slightly closer to the pivot than the
other mass.

The component of gravity that is tangent to the

a=0 circular path of the pendulum bob is shown for
several angles in Figure 1.

g
a
g

a g

a a=0

g
g

Figure 1: Tangential Acceleration Figure 2: Pendulum Setup

SET UP

1. Put the Rotary Motion Sensor on the rod stand and plug it into Channels 1 and 2 on the
ScienceWorkshop 500 interface. See Figure 2.

Written by Ann Hanks

Large Amplitude Pendulum EX-9905 Page 3 of 4

2. Put the large step of the pulley outward on the Rotary Motion Sensor and attach the
pendulum rod at its center. Attach the two brass masses on the ends of the rod, with one
at the end and the other about 0.5 cm from the other end.

3. Open the file called "1Large Amp Pend".

PROCEDURE

Small Amplitude

1. Click on START with the pendulum at rest in its equilibrium position. This will set the
angle on the Rotary Motion Sensor to zero at the equilibrium position.

2. Displace the pendulum less than 20o from equilibrium. Let it go and click STOP after a
few oscillations.

3. Examine the graphs of angular displacement, angular velocity, and angular acceleration.

A. Are they sinusoidal?

B. Which graphs are in phase with each other (i.e. their maxima coincide).
C. Are the periods the same?
D. Measure the period using the Smart Tool at the top of the graph.
E. Derive an expression for the theoretical period of this physical pendulum for
small amplitudes using Equation (1). Measure the masses and lengths and
calculate the theoretical period. Compare it to the measured period.

Large Amplitude

1. Click on START with the pendulum at rest in its equilibrium position. This will set the
angle on the Rotary Motion Sensor to zero at the equilibrium position.

2. Displace the pendulum nearly 180o from equilibrium. Let it go and click STOP after a
few oscillations.

3. Examine the graphs of angular displacement, angular velocity, and angular acceleration.
Click on a Smart Cursor for each of the three graphs to align the velocities and
accelerations with various angles (180o, 90o, and 0o).

A. Are they sinusoidal?

B. Which graphs are in phase with each other (i.e. their maxima coincide).
C. Are the periods the same?
D. Measure the period using the Smart Tool at the top of the graph of the angular
displacement.
E. Is the period longer or shorter than the low amplitude period?

Written by Ann Hanks

Large Amplitude Pendulum EX-9905 Page 4 of 4

4. For the angular acceleration graph, identify the angles at which the major features of the
acceleration curve occur. Explain what forces cause the acceleration graph to look like it
does. What would the acceleration graph look like if the pendulum was released from
rest at 179.9o?

Period vs. Amplitude

1. Open the file called "2Large Amp Pend". With the pendulum at rest at its equilibrium,
click on START and displace the pendulum nearly 180o from equilibrium and let it go.
Let the pendulum oscillate until the amplitude is less than 5o. Then click on STOP.

2. Examine the graph of Period vs. Amplitude.

A. At what angle is the period the longest?

B. Does the period at low amplitude match the period measured before in the Low
Amplitude portion of the lab?
C. If the pendulum was released from exactly 180o, what would the period be?

3. Use the DataStudio calculator to calculate the function (see Equations 2 and 3) that
approximates the period for all amplitudes. Graph this function on the same graph as the
Period vs. Amplitude data. Do they match?

Written by Ann Hanks