PRACTICAL INVESTIGATION: THE SIMPLE PENDULUM
AIM:
The aim is to investigate the factors which affect the period of oscillation of a simple pendulum.
THEORY:
Over 400 years ago, Galileo came up with the theory that the period of a pendulum depends only on the length of the pendulum. A simple pendulum consists of a weight hanging off a string. When the bob is stationary, the two forces acting upon the bob - the tension of the string and gravity - equalise and gives the bob an overall force of 0N. However, when the bob is in motion, the forces are unbalanced and the bob swings back and forth. If the amplitude of the string is increased, the weight will swing back and forth at a regular period. However, if the amplitude of the swing is increased too much, this may cause the weight to bounce and the period of a pendulum may be void. The period of a pendulum is the time for one complete swing. The equation for the period of a pendulum is
T =
where 'L' is the length of the pendulum, 'g' is the acceleration due to gravity and 'T' is the period of a pendulum. However, when doing a practical, the period of a pendulum can be determined by measuring the time a pendulum takes to swing twenty periods and dividing the results by twenty.
HYPOTHESIS:
The factor that will greatly affect the period of a pendulum is the length of the pendulum.
EQUIPMENT:
Stand and Clamp
Pendulum bob
Stopwatch
Metre ruler
Nylon String
METHOD:
. The pendulum was set up and the string set 20cm + 0.01cm long. The pendulum was not in direct path of air-conditioning or other factors that may affect the period of a pendulum.
2. An electric scale was zeroed and the bob was weighed (+ 0.01g).
AIM:
The aim is to investigate the factors which affect the period of oscillation of a simple pendulum.
THEORY:
Over 400 years ago, Galileo came up with the theory that the period of a pendulum depends only on the length of the pendulum. A simple pendulum consists of a weight hanging off a string. When the bob is stationary, the two forces acting upon the bob - the tension of the string and gravity - equalise and gives the bob an overall force of 0N. However, when the bob is in motion, the forces are unbalanced and the bob swings back and forth. If the amplitude of the string is increased, the weight will swing back and forth at a regular period. However, if the amplitude of the swing is increased too much, this may cause the weight to bounce and the period of a pendulum may be void. The period of a pendulum is the time for one complete swing. The equation for the period of a pendulum is
T =
where 'L' is the length of the pendulum, 'g' is the acceleration due to gravity and 'T' is the period of a pendulum. However, when doing a practical, the period of a pendulum can be determined by measuring the time a pendulum takes to swing twenty periods and dividing the results by twenty.
HYPOTHESIS:
The factor that will greatly affect the period of a pendulum is the length of the pendulum.
EQUIPMENT:
Stand and Clamp
Pendulum bob
Stopwatch
Metre ruler
Nylon String
METHOD:
. The pendulum was set up and the string set 20cm + 0.01cm long. The pendulum was not in direct path of air-conditioning or other factors that may affect the period of a pendulum.
2. An electric scale was zeroed and the bob was weighed (+ 0.01g).
