PHY 213 Lab 1 Name: Abdulrehman Alshammari

Pendulum Explorations & Gravity

1. Question for consideration:

What factors influence the period of oscillation of a pendulum that has mass located only at the “plumb
bob” end? (The mass of the string is considered to be negligibly small.) Can the motion of a pendulum be
used to measure the gravitational attraction of the Earth on the swinging object? How or why is that?

2. Factors to consider:
The amplitude (angle of release from vertical) The amount of mass in motion (the “plumb bob”)
The length of the pendulum Gravity (does gravity affect pendulum motion?)

3. Theory (mostly definitions and equations):

T = period of oscillation of a pendulum. The time required to complete one back-and-forth oscillation.
Measured in seconds.
L = length of the pendulum, measured in meters.
g = acceleration due to gravity. We take the value of this to be g = 9.80 m / s2 .
T = 2π √Lg (1) (now, that’s from theory)

4. Equipment: Ring stand, pendulum rod, string, 50-gram mass, 2 x 20-gram masses, scissors, stop-
watch timer, protractor, meter stick.
5. Procedure A:
a) Clamp a pendulum rod near the top of a ring stand. Cut a piece of string at least 1.0 m in length. Lay a
50-g mass and a 20-g mass on top of one end of the string and tie the string around them. Loosen the
center thumb screw on the pendulum rod and tighten the screw on the free end of the string. See the
photo, above right, and the close-up below it.
b) Loosen the thumb screw and adjust the length (use 2 people) so the 70-g masses are very nearly 80 cm
below the pendulum rod ( ± 1.0 cm). Measure the distance from the top of the string (where it emerges
from the clamp) and the bottom of the string wrapped around the masses. Do not stretch the string. Data
is recorded in the row of the table with the Nominal Length of 80 cm ( ± 1.0 cm) until Step 5f.
c) Pull the pendulum to the side so that it touches the vertical ring stand rod. Release the masses so that
they swing back and forth. Use the stopwatch to time the motion through 10 oscillations. Record the data
in the “10 T” column, #1 in Table 1.

80 cm https://youtu.be/gMCVsY3obAU

70 cm https://youtu.be/ABoRG-BuOMA

60 cm https://youtu.be/StBmJULggS0

50 cm https://youtu.be/zKkSAl3AyZU

40 cm https://youtu.be/OUbzzfhrQe4
30 cm https://youtu.be/V5b8nkhXPE4
Data and Observations

The data obtained from the videos is collected in a table below.

Table 1. Period of Oscillation of a Pendulum.

Nominal Period
Length 10 T (s) 10 Tave (s) T (s) L (m) T2 (s2 )
(L)
#1 = 17.7
80 cm 17.8 1.78 0.79 3.17
#2 =18.1
( ± 1 cm)
#3 =17.6

#1 =16.9 16.8 1.68 0.70 2.82

70 cm
#2 =16.8
( ± 1 cm)
#3 =16.8

#1 =15.4 15.6 1.56 0.60 2.43

60 cm
#2 =15.6
( ± 1 cm)
#3 = 15.5

#1 =14.7 14.5 1.45 0.52 2.10

50 cm
#2 =14.5
( ± 1 cm)
#3 =14.4

#1 =12.8 12.7 1.27 0.40 1.61

40 cm
#2 =12.8
( ± 1 cm)
#3 =13.0

#1 =11.1 11.2 1.12 0.31 1.25

30 cm
#2 =11.3
( ± 1 cm)
#3 =11.1

6. Analysis A: Plot T2 versus L to determine g.

The values obtained from the data are calculated as instructed. The graph is given below
Record the following values from the equation in Excel:

slope: 4.03
Intercept: 0.01
Correlation: 0.9992

Referring to equation (2), compare it with straight line equation y = mx, write down what the
following quantities are:

y = T2 x=L m = 4π2/g

Remember what your x and y axes are in your graph. Use the following space to calculate the g value
from the slope

4π2/g = 4.03
Now

g =4π2/4.03 = 9.79 m/s2

It is acceptable values because it is in range.

% Diff = (9.79- 9.80)/9.80 * 100 = -0.1%

7 Procedure B:
Data is collected from the following videos

100 https://youtu.be/Z8Ls2RtUayI
200 https://youtu.be/XQBbO011rIs

Table 2. Effect of Amplitude and Mass on the Period of a Pendulum.

Controlled Period
L (cm) 10 T 10 Tave
Parameter T (s)

31 #1 = 11.08 11.04 1.10

20°
#2 = 11.03
Amplitude
#3 = 11.02

31 #1 = 10.93 10.79 1.08

10°
#2 = 10.98
Amplitude
#3 = 10.48

8. Analysis B. Answer the following questions.

1. Keeping everything else the same, which choice describes best how the period of oscillation changes
when the mass of the pendulum doubles (or approximately doubles)?
a.) doubles b.) quadruples c.) decreases by a factor of 2 d.) decreases by a factor of 4
g.)
e.) increases by a factor of √2 f.) decreases by a factor of √2 does not change

2. Keeping everything else the same, which choice describes best how the period of oscillation
changes when the amplitude of the pendulum doubles?
a.) doubles b.) quadruples c.) decreases by a factor of 2 d.) decreases by a factor of 4
e.) f.) does not change
increases by a factor of √2 decreases by a factor of √2 g.)
3. Keeping everything else the same, which choice describes best how the period of oscillation changes
when the length of the pendulum doubles?
a.) doubles b.) quadruples c.) decreases by a factor of 2 d.) decreases by a factor of 4

e.) increases by a factor of √2 f.) decreases by a factor of √2 g.) does not change appreciably

4. In Parts 5 and 6 of this lab, how is it that the swinging of a pendulum can be used to determine
the gravitational constant? (What is it that causes the pendulum to swing in the first place?)
When the pendulum is moved, its potential energy increases which is why it swings.

5. The frequency of a certain pendulum is 10 cycles / s, and the frequency of another pendulum is
5 cycles / s. Which pendulum is longer, the 10 cycle /s pendulum or the 5 cycle / s pendulum?

Frequency is inversely proportional to Time period and pendulum is directly proportional to length.The
pendulum whose period is greater will be longer in length. Here the pendulum with 5 cycle/s frequency
has longer length.

6. The period of a simple pendulum is 1 sec on Earth. Calculate the period of the same pendulum on the
Moon where the gravitational pull is less than on Earth. Use gMoon = ⅙ gEarth . (Nothing else
changes except the gravitational pull on the pendulum.)

From the period of pendulum formula

1 = 2π√l/9.8
1 = 4π2*l/9.8
L = 9.8 / 4π2 = 0.248 m
Now on moon, the length is same
T = 2π√l/(g/6)
T = 2π√0.248/(9.8/6) = 2.45 s
7. Suppose that astronauts are flying in deep space, far from any massive objects like asteroids,
planetoids, or other such body. A bob is attached to the ceiling of the craft by a string, at a right angle
to the surface. When the bob is pulled 15° away from the 90° angle to the surface, and then released,
how does it behave? What is its period of oscillation?
There is no gravity in deep space. Consequently, the period of oscillation can not be determined. The
motion is henceforth not oscillatory.

8. Explain in words why the results are different on the Moon than they are on Earth. Write a
formula from the lecture for the period of a pendulum that supports your observations.

T = 2π√l/g
This the formula for time period of a pendulum. From the formula, it can be seen that the period depends
upon gravity. The length of the pendulum remains same on earth and moon but the gravity changes
which causes the period to differ.