Simple Harmonic Motion Physics HL Lab Report

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Planning (a)

In this experiment, I will attempt to investigate the dependence of the period (T) of a simple pendulum on the length (L) of the string used. The motion of a pendulum can be considered simple harmonic motion even though the bob hanging at the end of the string moves in curves. This is because if the string is relatively long compared to the initial displacement, the curve made by the bob is close enough to a straight line. I expect that the period (T) will be directly proportional to the length (L) of the string. I will make sure that I start the pendulum swing from the same amplitude. This means it will always start with the same gravitational potential energy as it starts swinging from the same point, and hence its maximum speed will remain the same for all lengths of the string. I expect that as the length (L) is reduced, the period (T) will decrease as the pendulum will have to cover less distance during each complete swing.

During this experiment, the length (T) of the string will be the independent variable, altered throughout the experiment. The dependent variable in this experiment