Experiment 4: The Conical Pendulum

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever seen a swing ride at the carnival, where

people sit in seats attached to a long chain, and they are swung
around in circles? This is similar to a conical pendulum. A conical
pendulum is a mass attached to a nearly mass-less string that is
held at the opposite end and swung in horizontal circles (Figure 1).

Why are pendulums important? to engineers? Pendulums

are used in many engineered objects, such as clocks, amusement
park rides, and even earthquake seismometers. Further, engineers
understand that their physics knowledge on the motion of
pendulums is an important step towards understanding motion,
gravity, inertia and centripetal force. Engineers apply their
understanding of these motion concepts to determine the force
needed to propel an object into outer space, the braking power Figure 1. Conical Pendulum
required to stop a vehicle at high speeds, and the optimal curve of
a highway ramp. Teams of engineers work on a wide range of projects and solve problems that
are important to society.

OBJECTIVES

After performing this experiment, you should be able to

• describe how a conical pendulum moves.
• relate pendulums to Newton's laws of motion.
• determine the relationship between the pendulum’s orbital period and the angle made by
the pendulum with the vertical.
• calculate the angular and linear speeds of bob, centripetal force and tension on string.
• observe the motion of the pendulum when the radius of the circular path of the bob is
varied.
• explain several uses for pendulums in modern, everyday engineering applications.

EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS NEEDED

• http://ophysics.com/f4.html
• Graphing paper

pg. 1
THEORY

The conical pendulum, shown in Figure 2, consists of a mass 𝑚 (bob) at the end of a
string of length 𝐿 that moves at a constant speed around a horizontal circle of radius 𝑟. A
component of the tension in the string provides the necessary force to provide the circular motion
of the mass. Newton’s laws, along with the concept of centripetal acceleration, can be used to
predict an expression for the tension necessary to move the mass in a horizontal circle at any
given radius 𝑟.

θ
𝐿

Figure 2. Conical Pendulum

Two external forces act on the bob, the tension of the string 𝑭 and the force of gravity or weight,
mg.
𝑭
ℎ
𝑭𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 ℎ cos 𝜃 =
𝑙
θ

𝑭𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 therefore

ℎ = 𝑙 cos 𝜃
𝑚𝑔

Figure 3. FBD of bob

The tension 𝐹 of the string can be resolved into x and y components. The y –component
balances the weight of the bob, and the x-component provides the centripetal force.

𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = 𝑚𝑔 (1)

Remember that centripetal force is

𝑚𝑣 2
𝐹𝑐𝑒𝑛 = 𝑟
(2)

As applied to the pendulum in Figure 3, the centripetal force is manifested by the horizontal
component of the tension of string, 𝑭. Thus

pg. 2
 𝑚𝑣 2
𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 = 𝑟
(3)

Dividing (2) by (1):

𝑚𝑣 2
𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
= 𝑟
𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 𝑚𝑔

𝐹 and 𝑚 cancels. The speed of the rotating bob becomes

𝑣 = √𝑟𝑔 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃 (4)

2𝜋
From rotation, 𝑣 = 𝑟𝜔 and 𝜔 = 𝑇
, where 𝑇 is the period of the bob’s one complete horizontal
circle.

Substituting the expressions of 𝑣 and 𝜔 in Eq. 4.

𝑟𝜔 = √𝑟𝑔 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃

𝑟𝜔 = √𝑟𝑔 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃

Squaring both sides of the equation

𝑟 2 𝜔2 = 𝑟𝑔𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃

𝑟 2 𝜔2 = 𝑟𝑔𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃
𝑟
From Figure 3, 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃 = ℎ

𝑟
𝑟 2 𝜔2 = 𝑟𝑔
ℎ

So,

𝑔
𝜔2 = ℎ (5)

Therefore,

2𝜋 2 𝑔
( ) =
𝑇 ℎ

𝑇 2 ℎ
( ) =
2𝜋 𝑔

pg. 3
 𝑇 ℎ
=√
2𝜋 𝑔

ℎ
𝑇 = 2𝜋√
𝑔

ℎ
𝑇 = 2𝜋√
𝑔

𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑇 = 2𝜋√ (6)
𝑔

Eq. 6 provides the expression of the period of the conical pendulum. Period, 𝑇, depends on the
length of the pendulum, 𝑙, and the angle 𝜃.

PROCEDURE

1. Open http://ophysics.com/f.html. Click on the heading Forces and go to The Conical

Pendulum.

2. Accustom yourself with the simulation before you start with your measurements. Play
around with the various slider settings of the radius R and the viewing angle 𝛼.

NOTE: Do not confuse 𝛼 with the angle 𝜃 in Equation 6. The angle 𝛼 is simply the
orientation of the pendulum when viewed by the observer.

3. Press RUN, PAUSE, and RESET at various settings be familiarize with the simulation. You
can also click press on show grid axis, show free body diagrams, and show components
for added information.

4. Mark an apparent starting point within the horizontal circle (green circle), the path of the bob.
Note this point with a small piece of paper taped on the monitor.

5. Adjust the radius R to 3 m and the animation speed to a convenient counting of rotations or
cycles. Reset the timer to zero.

6. Record the angle 𝜃 between the string and the vertical. The angle emerged when the RESET
button is pressed.

7. an emerged ess RUN and measure the time for 5 complete cycles. Remember that one cycle
is a complete circle. You can start counting the number of cycles on the starting point you
mark on the monitor. Simultaneously press RUN and start to count “zero”.

8. Press PAUSE after the 10 cycles are completed. Record the angle 𝜃 and the time registered
in the 𝑡 slider.

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9. Calculate the period 𝑇 by dividing the time for 5 cycles with 5.

𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 5 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠

𝑇=
5

10. Record in Table 1.

11. Repeat this procedure with different values of R (3.3 m, 3.5 m, 3.8 m, 4.0 m, 4.2 m, 4.5 m, 5.0
m, and 5.5 m).

12. For each trial, calculate 𝑙𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃. We assume the length of string to be 6.4 m. Since R is given,
then θ can be computed from

𝑅
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 =
𝑙

13. Using Excel, make a graph with 𝑇 2 along the ordinate and 𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 along the abscissa. Draw
a smooth curve through the points.

14. Calculate the average slope of the curve and its error.

15. Calculate the acceleration due to gravity 𝑔 from the slope.

16. Compare the experimental value of 𝑔 with the accepted value by taking the per cent error.

17. On Table 2, calculate the angular frequency 𝜔, tension on string 𝑭 and the centripetal force.

pg. 5
Name___________________________ Date Performed____________________
Subject__________________________ Schedule__________________________

Experiment 4. Conical Pendulum

Table 1. Period of Rotation

Assumed mass of bob: m = 64 g

Assumed length of pendulum: 𝑙= 6.4 m

Trial Radius R 𝜽 𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝜽 Expected Time for Period %E

T 5 cycles
From Eq. 6
m deg m sec sec
1 3.0
2 3.3
3 3.5
4 3.8
5 4.0
6 4.2
6 4.5
7 5.0
8 5.5

Table 2. Centripetal Force and Tension on String

Trial Height 𝒉 Angular Speed of Centripetal Tension on

frequency bob force string
2𝜋 𝑣 = 𝑅𝜔 𝑚𝑣 2 From Eq. 2
𝜔= 𝐹𝑐 =
𝑇 𝑅
m 1/sec m/s Rad2 m/s2
1
2
3
4
5
6

pg. 6
 6
7
8

Name___________________________ Date Performed____________________

Subject__________________________ Schedule__________________________

Experiment 4. Conical Pendulum

pg. 7
Calculations and Questions:

1. What relationship exist between the period of the conical pendulum and the angle 𝜃 ?

2. Calculate the average slope of the curve. Show it here. What is the physical significance
of the slope?

3. From the slope, calculate the acceleration due to gravity. Compare this value with the
accepted value by calculating the per cent error.

4. Does period vary with the mass of the bob? Justify your answer.

5. A conical pendulum has a length of 50.0 cm of mass 101 g performs a uniform circular
motion in a horizontal plane of radius 30.0 cm. Find the

(a) angle made by the string with the vertical.

(b) tension on the string.

(c) period.

(d) speed of the bob.

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 (e) centripetal force

(f) centripetal acceleration.

pg. 9