Title: The Simple Pendulum

Objective
To determine the effects or contribution of the length of the string and mass of the
pendulum bob on the period for the simple pendulum and find out a mathematical
relationship between the length and period.
To determine the value of the acceleration due to gravity 𝑔 at Addis Ababa

Apparatus
A string used as a rigid rod
Meter tape
A pendulum bob
Table clamp
A rod on which the mass is fixed
Stopwatch

Theory
The simple pendulum consists of a small bob (in theory a particle) of mass 𝑚 suspended by a
light inextensible thread of length 𝑙 from some point about which it is allowed to swing back and
forth.
The forces on the bob are the tension in the thread 𝐹𝑇 and the weight 𝑚𝑔 of the bob acting
vertically downwards. Resolving 𝑚𝑔 radially and tangentially at the bob, we see that the
tangential component is the unbalanced restoring force acting towards the equilibrium position.

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If 𝑎 represents the acceleration of the bob along the arc at the bob due to the presence of the
force
𝑚𝑔 sin 𝜃, then the equation of motion of the bob is represented by:
− 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝜃 = 𝑚𝑎
𝑥
then we got 𝑎 = −𝑔 sin 𝜃 …… but sin 𝜃 = 𝑙

𝑙
𝑎 = −𝑔
𝑥

Since the motion of the bob is a simple harmonic motion, we can equate 𝑎 to −𝜔2𝑥.
𝑙
𝑎 = −𝑔 𝑥 = −𝜔2 𝑥
𝑔 2𝜋
𝜔2 = 𝑙 , 𝑔 = 𝜔2 𝑙 where 𝜔 = 𝑇

2𝜋 2
𝑔 = (𝑇) 𝑙

hence we go the time period, T for pendulum to be;

𝑙
𝑇 = 2𝜋√
𝑔

where 𝑥 is the displacement from the equilibrium position, 𝜔 is the angular frequency or speed,
𝑔 is the gravitational acceleration, 𝑙 is the length of the thread, and 𝑇 is the time period (the
time taken for a single oscillation).
The time period is therefore independent of the amplitude of the oscillation, and at a given
place on the Earth’s surface where 𝑔 is constant, it depends only on the length 𝑙 of the
pendulum.

Procedures;

1. The pendulum was set up in such a way that the length could be varied.
2. The bob was displaced in such a way that the string would make an angle between 0°
and 10° with the vertical line through the equilibrium point for each length of the
string.
3. As soon as it was let go, the stopwatch was started and the time elapsed for 10

2
 complete oscillations was recorded.
4. Steps 2 and 3 were repeated twice more without changing the length in order to get
three trials.
5. Then, the length of the string was decreased by an interval of 10 cm and steps 2 and 3
were repeated for each length.
6. The data points were recorded with five trials each.

Data Analysis
The table below shows the value of the calculated data that includes the period of oscillation
𝑇, which further gives us the acceleration due to gravity 𝑔.

considering the first experiment

Length Times for N (𝑠) Square of the Acceleration Due to (𝑔 − 𝑔̅ )2

Period
𝑙 (𝑚) (sec) Period 𝑇2 (𝑠2) Gravity 𝑔 (𝑚⁄𝑠2) (m/s2 )
0.80 18.3 1.83 3.34 9.42 0.0625
0.70 16.7 1.67 2.78 9.90 0.0529
0.60 15.3 1.53 2.34 10.11 0.1936
0.50 14.7 1.47 2.16 9.12 0.2916
0.40 12.7 1.27 1.61 9.78 0.0121
Average 𝑔̅ = 9.67

In Data Recording and Data Analysis, the following formulae were used:

For the first trial ; L = 0.8m and T= 1.83 sec

𝑙 4𝜋 2 𝑙
𝑇 = 2𝜋√𝑔 then, 𝑔 = 𝑇2

4𝜋 2 (0.8)
𝑔= = 9.42 𝑚⁄𝑠 2
1.832
For the second trial ; L = 0.7m and T= 1.67 sec

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 𝑙 4𝜋 2 𝑙
𝑇 = 2𝜋√𝑔 then, 𝑔 = 𝑇2

4𝜋 2 (0.7)
𝑔= = 9.90 𝑚⁄𝑠 2
1.672
For the third trial ; L = 0.6m and T= 1.53 sec

𝑙 4𝜋 2 𝑙
𝑇 = 2𝜋√𝑔 then, 𝑔 = 𝑇2

4𝜋 2 (0.6)
𝑔= = 10.11 𝑚⁄𝑠 2
1.532
For the fourth trial ; L = 0.5m and T= 1.47 sec

𝑙 4𝜋 2 𝑙
𝑇 = 2𝜋√𝑔 then, 𝑔 = 𝑇2

4𝜋 2 (0.5)
𝑔= = 9.12 𝑚⁄𝑠 2
1.472
For the fifth trial ; L = 0.4m and T= 1.27 sec

𝑙 4𝜋 2 𝑙
𝑇 = 2𝜋√𝑔 then, 𝑔 = 𝑇2

4𝜋 2 (0.4)
𝑔= = 9.78 𝑚⁄𝑠 2
1.272
Then the average calculated gravity is
∑ 𝑔̅ 9.42 + 9.90 + 10.11 + 9.12 + 9.78
𝑔= = = 9.67 𝑚⁄𝑠 2
5 5
The percentage error in the experiment is calculated as
|𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 − 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒|
%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 𝑥 100%
𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
|9.67 − 9.81|
= = 1.43%
9.81

Standard deviation for the experiment 1;

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 ∑𝑛1(𝑔 − 𝑔̅ )2
𝜎= √
𝑁−1

((9.42 − 9.81)2 + 9.90 − 9.81)2 + (10.11 − 9.81)2 + (9.12 − 9.81)2 + (9.78 − 9.81)2
=√
5−1

𝛔 = 𝟎. 𝟒𝟐𝟔

L vs T2 graph

3.5

2.5
Time squared

1.5

0.5

0
0.5 0.6 Length 0.7 0.8

Discussion
The experiment showed that the period of the pendulum is independent of the mass of the bob.
This aligns with the theoretical understanding that the mass cancels out in the equation of motion
for a simple pendulum. Regardless of the mass used, the calculated period remained consistent
for a given pendulum length. This result reinforces the principle that gravity acts equally on
objects of different masses in free-fall conditions.

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As the length of the pendulum was increased, the measured period increased proportionally to
the square root of the length. This is consistent with the expectation that the period of a
pendulum depends only on the length and the acceleration due to gravity, assuming small
angular displacements. The graph of T2 vs. L was found to be linear, further validating the
theoretical model.

We have calculated the measured acceleration due to gravity as 9.67 which is very close to the
actual true value of gravity that is 9.81 m/s2. Our percentage error was found to be 1.43% which
shows it was accurate experiment but some errors may arise due to our humanistic nature and
estimation when we release the pendulum bob from some maximum angle which can differ from
one trial to another which we termed as personal error but using almost approximate angles for
releasing the bob increases the accuracy of our experiment. Other errors may arise from timing
accuracy , initial length measurement and environmental conditions as well.

Conclusion
There were two objectives in this experiment. One was to find out the mathematical
relationship between the length 𝑙 of a pendulum bob and its time period of oscillation 𝑇. The
other was to use the aforementioned mathematical relationship to determine the value of the
gravitational acceleration 𝑔.

From our direct observation of reality, we could predict that in a pendulum, the longer the
string, the longer it takes to swing back and forth. But this experiment illuminates the exact
relationship between these two, and provides a good reason for why and how they are directly
proportional.

The experiment also provides an alternative way of measuring the acceleration due to gravity.
The other and most obvious method was to measure it using a freely falling body, recording
how long it takes to travel down a certain height and reach the ground. But this experiment
measures it in a bit more arithmetically sophisticated but much more efficient and easier way,
with less air resistance.

Therefore, both of the objectives have been met.

Post-Lab Questions

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 1. Relation Between Period and Amplitude of Oscillations

In most cases of simple harmonic motion (e.g., a simple pendulum or a spring-mass system), the
period is independent of the amplitude, provided the oscillations remain small. This means that
increasing or decreasing the amplitude does not significantly affect the time it takes for one
complete cycle. However, for large amplitudes, nonlinear effects might slightly alter the
relationship.

2. Effect of Mass on Acceleration Due to Gravity

The acceleration due to gravity (g) is a constant for a given location and does not depend on the
mass of the object. It is determined by Earth's gravitational field strength and is approximately
9.81 m/s2 near the surface of the Earth.

References
How to Make A Line Graph in Word.(n.d.). Wondershare EdrawMax. Retrieved from

https://www.edrawmax.com/

Pendulums. (2020). openstax CNX. Retrieved from https://cnx.org/