Simple

Pendulum
Experiment for
finding Mass of
the Earth
INTRODUCTION

It is common practice to observe that a swinging pendulum slowly and

gradually comes to halt. This is because of the influence of the earth

gravitational force; the earth inherent gravitational force keeps acting on

pendulum which ultimately stops its simple harmonic motion. This

phenomenon is the manifestation of Newtons law of gravitation. According

to Newtons law of gravitation, a particle attracts every other particle in the

universe using a force that is directly proportional to the product of their

masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between

them. Taking advantage of this important and useful law, an attempt has

been made to find out the mass of the earth. In this experiment, mass of the

earth is to be found out using simple pendulum.

2
PROCEDURE

The mass of the earth is to be found out using the equation , = . The

constant , the gravitational acceleration, is to be found out first without

straightaway putting in its generally accepted value; it has to be calculated

first by performing a simple pendulum experiment. So take two chairs, and

place them back-to-back. Now attach a wooden dowel between the two

chairs. Take a bob weighing 500 grams, and tie it with one meter long string.

Tie the string tightly to the wooden dowel so that the bob attached to the

string swings freely. The arrangements should look like as shown below.

3
 Experimental Setup

Now pull the bob back, and carry it to a point where the string makes a 30 degree

angle with the vertical. Take a stopwatch. The stopwatch should start when the bob

is released. So now release the bob, and count the number of circles with keeping an

eye on the stopwatch at the same time. Let the bob first complete 20 cycles first, and

note down the corresponding counts of the stopwatch. The counts are nothing but

the time taken by the pendulum to complete the cycles. Similarly now repeat the

same process for 24, 28, 32, and 36 cycles, and note the corresponding counts of the

stopwatch. Now the same process is to be repeated for shorter string of the
4
pendulum. Make the string length 0.50 meter and repeat the aforementioned

procedure.

Observations and Calculations

Mass of the bob = 500 gm.

Angle of the Pendulum with respect to the vertical line = 30 degrees

SETUP 1

Length of Pendulum (down to the center of the weight) in inches = 39.

Length of Pendulum in meters = L = 1.

Trial N (Complete Cycles) Time (s) Period (s)

()
=

1 20 40 2

2 24 50 2.08

3 28 57 2.03

4 32 64 2

5 36 71 1.97

5
SETUP 2

Length of Pendulum (down to the center of the weight) in inches = 19.5.

Length of Pendulum in meters = L = 0.50.

Trial N (Complete Cycles) Time (s) Period (s)

()
=

1 20 28 1.4

2 24 34 1.42

3 28 39 1.39

4 32 45 1.41

5 36 51 1.42

2 + 2.08 + 2.03 + 2 + 1.97

Calculating the value of ,

1
1 = 4 2 2
= 4(3.14)2 = 9.70 2
2.0162

6
 1.4 + 1.42 + 1.39 + 1.41 + 1.42
Average Time Period T = = 1.408
5

Calculating the value of ,

0.50
2 = 4 2 = 4(3.14) 2
= 9.95 2
2 1.4082

1 +2 9.70+9.95
Average Value of = = = 9.83 2
2 2

Finding the mass of the Earth

Putting the values, we get

(6.371106 )2
Mass of the Earth = = 9.83 = 5.982 1024
6.671011

The percentage difference of the calculated mass of the earth with and

generally accepted value =

Putting the values, we get

5.982 1024 5.972 1024

7
Answer 4.1

The percentage difference value, as calculated above, is 0.167 % .

Percentage value like this is almost negligible as it is equal to 0.00167

in general, and neglecting it wont create any significant impacts in

solving numerical questions.

Answer 4.2

The difference exists because of the variance in the value. If 9.80

would have to be put instead of9.82, zero difference would have been

resulted. It is, therefore, concluded that as much the value of is

closer to the standard value, the lesser would be the difference in the

mass of the earth.

Answer 4.3

Almost all planets masses can be found out once its radius and

distance to the Sun is known. However, the approach would be

different. For example, to find the mass of the Moon or any other

planet, its utmost necessary to have a numerical value of its radius, its

orbital period, and its distance from the sun. Also, equation (1) cant

be used in this case; its only for finding mass of the earth.

8
CONCLUSION

The value of is an important parameter in finding the mass of the earth. It is

the only parameter which decides the accuracy of the answer as the rest two

parameters (radius and gravitational constant) are always constant, and

thus, doesnt contribute to the answer accuracy. Therefore, for better

accuracy, the measured value of has to be as nearer to the generally

accepted value as possible, and this is possible only if the experiment is

performed with much care and accuracy.