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Space Task 1

The student conducted an experiment using a pendulum to determine the acceleration due to gravity by measuring the period of oscillations over different string lengths and calculating g from the period and string length, finding a value of 9.9 m/s^2 which was within 1% of the accepted value; the results showed a direct linear relationship between period and string length, but the release angle introduced some human error.

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Nick Atwal
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54 views2 pages

Space Task 1

The student conducted an experiment using a pendulum to determine the acceleration due to gravity by measuring the period of oscillations over different string lengths and calculating g from the period and string length, finding a value of 9.9 m/s^2 which was within 1% of the accepted value; the results showed a direct linear relationship between period and string length, but the release angle introduced some human error.

Uploaded by

Nick Atwal
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SBHS 2U HSC Physics: Space Vuong

Thien

Journal Task 1: Perform an investigation and gather information to determine a value for acceleration due to gravity using pendulum motion, computer assisted technology and/or other strategies and explain possible sources of variations from the value 9.8 ms-2.

Equipment: Retort stand 80 cm string Boss head Stopwatch 50 g mass Diagram:

Procedure: 1. Set up the experiment as shown above. 2. Move the mass such that the angle between the string and the vertical is about 15 degrees. 3. Release and record the time taken for ten oscillations. Divide the time by ten to obtain the value for one oscillation. 4. Repeat this three times. 5. Shorten the string and repeat the experiment. Results: Period Measurements (s) Length (m) 0.76 0.61 0.54 0.35 1st 1.71 1.56 1.49 1.20 2nd 1.70 1.55 1.50 1.16 3rd 1.76 1.56 1.46 1.20 4th 1.75 1.52 1.47 1.20 Average 1.73 1.55 1.48 1.19 Periodic Time (s) 1.74 1.56 1.47 1.18

1 2 3 4

Analysis: We took four period measurements, and because they were not all the exact values, we determined the average value and used that value to compare it with the theoretical value. The theoretical value can be calculated by applying the formula: T = 2

We noticed that our experimental value is almost exactly the same as our theoretical value. By observation of the table above, the percentage error is <0.1%. From the above table we developed a graph showing the relationship between the periodic time and the length. As the length of the string increases the periodic time also increases. Therefore there is a linear relationship between periodic time and the length of the string.
Periodic Time (s) Periodic Time v Length

2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00 0.3

0.4

Length (m)

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

Similarly, the value for gravity can be determined using the same formula, where: g = 4 2L T2 = 4 2(0.61) (1.56)2 = 9.90 ms-2 Conclusion: Our experiment was a valid method of determining the relationship between the periodic time and the length of a pendulum. We achieved a result within a <0.1% error range, which is accurate enough. Such marginal errors are inevitable as the angle at which the pendulum was released differed for every recording due to human errors. Our experiment is said to be reliable because four measurements were taken and all four were precisely in the same range of values. Our value for gravity didnt turn out to be as accurate as we hoped. It exceeded the theoretical value by 1%. Marginal errors in the previous measurements were likely to have led to this slightly larger margin of error. In future, this margin of error can be reduced by measuring out a correct angle (150) with a protractor before releasing the pendulum, and by being more alert when recording the time.

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