Name: ______rowen______
Week 4 Lab: Pendulum
BACKGROUND
A pendulum is a bob hanging from a string that is made to swing back and forth. In the absence
of friction and air resistance, the bob will repeat its motion indefinitely. The motion is a
repetition of a “cycle.”
The time (in seconds) taken to complete a cycle is called the “period” of the pendulum.
In this experiment we will study the effect of different variables on the period of the frictionless
swinging bob; that is we will try to see how we can change the period of oscillation.
AIM
To identify factors that affect the period of a pendulum
PROCEDURE
Go to https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/pendulum-lab/latest/pendulum-lab_en.html
Click on INTRO.
Set:
length = 0.7m
mass = 0.2 kg
gravity = Earth
Friction = None
Stopwatch = ON
Speed = Normal
1. Displace the mass to the side by about 30 degrees and let the mass swing. The mass moves
from one extreme point, through the center, to the extreme point on the other side and then back
to the starting point. Watch the repetitive pattern and figure out what you would define as one
cycle. (There is more than one configuration that can be considered a cycle.)
Q1. What will you consider to be a cycle – describe where the mass starts and where the motion
finishes:
I will consider one whole cycle to be from the left 30 degrees till it gets back to the left 30
degrees
2. Click on “Period Trace” to see a path that is one complete cycle. (There are more convenient
paths that make up a cycle.)
Q2. As you watch the pendulum oscillate, consider what factors might affect the oscillations.
List three possible factors:
Vibrations
Length of string
Weight on pendulum
3. Set the mass into oscillations and practice finding the time taken for 3 oscillations using the
stopwatch.
4. Once you are comfortable measuring the time for oscillations, start finding the time taken for
5oscillations by changing the angle through which it is displaced. Do this twice for each angle of
displacement and then take the average. The period is the time taken for once cycle, so divide the
average value by 10 to get the period in the last data column. DO NOT CHANGE ANY OTHER
PARAMETERS. Pendulum length = 0.7m.
Note: t average = (t1 + t2) / 2
2
Table 1. Period measured by varying angle
Angle Time for 5 oscillations Period T (1/s)
(degrees) t1 (s) t2 (s) t average (s) T = t average /5
30 8.48 8.62 8.55 1.71
25 8.47 8.51 8.49 1.70
20 8.43 8.55 8.49 1.70
15 8.43 8.51 8.49 1.70
5 8.23 8.45 8.34 1.67
When you vary the angle through which the pendulum oscillates you are changing the amplitude
of oscillation.
Q3: Based on the data in table 1, does period depend on the amplitude of oscillation? Explain.
The period is not dependent upon the amplitude of the oscillations. Due to the observation above
changing the degree of the angle of amplitude makes very little or no difference in period. The
difference in period above is probably due to human error.
5. Now vary the length of the pendulum and measure the period like you did before. This time
the angle of displacement will be 30 degrees for all trials.
Table 2. Period measured by varying length
Length Time for 5 oscillations Period T (1/s)
m t1 (s) t2 (s) t average (s) T = taverage /5
1.00 10.11 10.09 10.10 2.02
0.93 9.80 9.79 9.80 1.96
0.87 9.47 9.65 9.56 1.91
0.80 9.17 9.13 9.15 1.89
0.70 8.50 8.63 8.57 1.71
0.63 8.03 8.06 8.05 1.61
0.57 7.80 7.68 7.74 1.55
0.50 7.28 7.17 7.23 1.45
3
Length Time for 5 oscillations Period T (1/s)
.3 5.55 5.62 5.59 1.12
Q 4: Does changing the length of the pendulum affect the period of oscillation? Explain.
Changing the length of the pendulum changes the period of the oscillation. From the observation
above the period gets shorter as the length of the rope gets shorter.
6. Next vary the mass of the bob and find the period of oscillation. Keep the angle at 30 degrees
and the length at 0.70m.
Table 3. Period measured by varying mass
Mass Time for 5 oscillations Period T (1/s)
(kg) t1 (s) t2 (s) t average (s) T = t average /5
0.2 8.43 8.58 8.51 1.70
0.5 8.56 8.58 8.57 1.71
0.75 8.43 8.53 8.48 1.70
0.9 8.5 8.58 8.54 1.71
1.1 8.63 8.63 8.63 1.73
Q 5: Does changing the mass of the pendulum affect the period of oscillation? Explain.
The mass of the pendulum does not effect the period of oscillations. Found on the table above the
difference in periods with varying weight do not differ enough to have an effect on the period.
Any difference in measuring the period is a effect of human error
4
Q 6. Summarize your results from table 1, 2 and 3. What factors affect the period of the
pendulum and what factors do not affect the period?
Angle and weight of the pendulum do not effect the oscillations but the length of the pendulum
does.
Q 7. Can we find any other factor that might affect the period? Look at the possible variables in
the program and see if you can find another one to vary. Does this affect the period of
oscillation? Explain clearly or show your data below to support your answer.
Changing gravity changes the oscillations of the pendulum. Having more gravity makes the
period shorter while less gravity makes the period longer
7. Additional analysis:
In Q 6 you have found out which variables affect the time period. Graphing is another way to see
the relationship between variables. It can also show if the two variables vary linearly, inversely,
quadratically, etc.
Using the data from tables 1,2 and 3, plot graphs of the following and figure out the relationship
between the variables. Next to each of these, write down whether the relationship is linear,
inverse, independent, quadratic or other.
(a) Period T vs mass __independent_______
(b) Period T vs length of pendulum _____linear_______
(c) Period T2 vs (length of pendulum) ___linear_________
(d) Period T vs amplitude/angle _____independent________
You can plot these on graph paper or use Excel, Demos online or
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/curve-fitting/latest/curve-fitting_en.html
8. If you have studied the oscillations of a simple pendulum you know that the period T is related
to the length and free-fall acceleration g by
Do any of your graphs support this relationship? Explain.
The length vs period graph does support this
5
9. From that graph determine the value for g.
Slope of graph = ___y= 0.7632x - 0.5907____
g = __________
period T vs angle
35
30
25 f(x) = 576.09 x − 958.04
20
angle
15
10
5
0
1.67 1.67 1.68 1.68 1.69 1.69 1.7 1.7 1.71 1.71 1.72
period
Linear ()
period T vs mass
1.2
1 f(x) = 20.83 x − 34.94
0.8
mass
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1.7 1.7 1.71 1.71 1.72 1.72 1.73 1.73 1.74
period
6
period T vs length
1.2
1
f(x) = 0.76 x − 0.59
0.8
length
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2
period
(period T)^2 vs length
1.2
1
f(x) = 0.24 x − 0
0.8
length
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
period
