A simple Pendulum.
AIM
My aim in this experiment was to see if the length of the string the bob was attached to effected the time taken for one oscillation.
RESEARCH
What a pendulum is:
A pendulum is a body suspended by a fixed point so it can swing back and forth under the influence of gravity. Pendulums are frequently used in clocks because the interval of time for each complete oscillation, called the period, is constant.
What effects the time for one period?
When the bob is moved from equilibrium either left or right and then is released, it oscillates in a vertical plane in the shape of an arc of a circle. This is then reversed back to its starting position.
The weight pulling down on the pendulum bob causes the bob to accelerate towards its normal resting point. This acceleration can be calculated by the formula a = -gA. The angle size can also be linked to the arc length, this is shown in the formula, x = LA. With L being the length of the string. This leads us to the equation for acceleration of a simple pendulum bob a = -g/L x. These two formulae then give us the formula for a period, this is
Where L = length of string from pivot to bob
g = acceleration due to gravity
T = time of period.
This tells me that there are only two variables, that I have direct control over, that can effect the period of the bob. These are the angle, and the length of the string. There is one other variable and that is the force of gravity; this could vary because the pull of gravity is not uniform all over the earth.
AIM
My aim in this experiment was to see if the length of the string the bob was attached to effected the time taken for one oscillation.
RESEARCH
What a pendulum is:
A pendulum is a body suspended by a fixed point so it can swing back and forth under the influence of gravity. Pendulums are frequently used in clocks because the interval of time for each complete oscillation, called the period, is constant.
What effects the time for one period?
When the bob is moved from equilibrium either left or right and then is released, it oscillates in a vertical plane in the shape of an arc of a circle. This is then reversed back to its starting position.
The weight pulling down on the pendulum bob causes the bob to accelerate towards its normal resting point. This acceleration can be calculated by the formula a = -gA. The angle size can also be linked to the arc length, this is shown in the formula, x = LA. With L being the length of the string. This leads us to the equation for acceleration of a simple pendulum bob a = -g/L x. These two formulae then give us the formula for a period, this is
Where L = length of string from pivot to bob
g = acceleration due to gravity
T = time of period.
This tells me that there are only two variables, that I have direct control over, that can effect the period of the bob. These are the angle, and the length of the string. There is one other variable and that is the force of gravity; this could vary because the pull of gravity is not uniform all over the earth.