College of Arts & Sciences

Department of Applied Sciences

PHYSICS 102 L - LAB REPORT

SPRING 2023- 24

Experiment No. 5

Experiment Title SIMPLE PENDULUM

Group No. 5
Section No. 1

NO. NAME ID

1. Aldhaheri, Ali Ahmed 1091735

2. Al-Sharafi, Saif Saleh 1094895
3. Almeer, Omar Saeed 1096528
4. Alrashdi, Abdulla Ali 1090931

Submission date 5/16/2024

Revised Feb 2024

Introduction:
A simple pendulum is made up of a particle of mass (m), called the pendulum “bob”.
It is connected to a string of length (L) that has negligible mass. The “bob” swings
back and forth when it is released after being dragged by an angle out of equilibrium.
The period (T) is the length of time required for a full swing back and forth, for
instance, from position 1 to position 3 and back to position 1 as shown below in
Figure 1. Moreover, the frequency (f), represents the number of full swings per unit
of time. The period is the reciprocal of the frequency.

Objective:
The aim of this experiment is to measure the period of a simple pendulum and to use
scientific methods to determine the relationships between the period of a pendulum
and its length, the mass of the pendulum, and the amplitude of the pendulum.

Apparatus of the Experiment:

 Motion Sensor
 PASCO Interface
 Pendulum Clamp
 String
 Bob
 Measuring tape

February 2024
Theory:
The period of the pendulum is measured according to equation below:

Where:

T is the time period of a pendulum in (s).

L is the length of the pendulum in (m).

g is the acceleration due to gravity in (𝑚/𝑠 2)

Hence, we can also find the value of “g” acceleration due to gravity from the equation
below:

Where:

g is the acceleration due to gravity in (𝑚/𝑠 2).

L is the length of the pendulum in (m).

T 2 is the time period square in (𝑠 2).

February 2024
Results and Calculation for Part A:

February 2024
Results and Calculation for Part B:

February 2024
Length-Time period squared Graph:

Time period from Position-Time Graph:

February 2024
Questions:
1. What should you do to the length of the string of a simple pendulum to triple
its period?

So, we would take 9 times the original length.

2. What happens to the period of a pendulum:

a) if its amplitude (the angle) changes slightly
 As the amplitude changes slightly, the period of the pendulum remains constant "doesn’t
change".
b) if its length changes
 As the length changes the period of the pendulum will change.
c) if it’s mass changes
 As the mass of the pendulum changes, the time period remains the same.

February 2024
 3. Find the length, in meters, of a pendulum which has a period of 5.8s.

𝑇 2𝑔
𝐿=
4𝜋 2
(5.8)2 × 9.8
𝐿=
4𝜋 2
𝐿 = 8.35 𝑚

4. The acceleration due to gravity on the moon[gM] is 1/6 of acceleration due to

gravity on the surface of earth. How many times is the period on moon (TM) greater
or less than that on the surface of the earth(T)?
[Given that g= 9.8 m/s2 on the surface of the earth]

1 1
𝑔𝑚 = 𝑔𝑒 = × 9.8 = 1.63 𝑚/𝑠 2
6 6

𝐿
2𝜋 √𝑔𝑚
𝑇𝑚 𝑚
=
𝑇𝑒 𝐿
2𝜋 √𝑔𝑒
𝑒

𝐿𝑚
𝑇𝑚 2𝜋 √1.63
=
𝑇𝑒 𝐿
2𝜋 √ 𝑒
9.8

𝑇𝑚 9.8
=√ ≈ 2.45 𝑠, 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑
𝑇𝑒 1.63

February 2024
5. A pendulum makes 100 cycles in 1.5 minutes.

a. What is its period?

𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 90𝑠
𝑇= = = 0.9 𝑠
𝐶𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 100

b. What is its frequency?

1 1
𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = = = 1.11 𝐻𝑧
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 0.9

c. What is its wavelength if velocity is 2 m/s

𝑣 2
λ= = = 1.8 𝑚
𝑓 1.11

6. A simple pendulum, whose length is 45 cm, has a frequency of 0.55 Hz at a

particular location on the Earth. What is the acceleration of gravity at that location?
1 1
T= = = 1.82 𝑠
𝑓 0.55
0.45𝑚
𝑔 = 4𝜋2 2 = 5.36 𝑚/𝑠2
(1.82𝑠)

February 2024
7. Calculate the Time period and frequency of a pendulum if its oscillation is
expressed in the given graph.

February 2024
Discussion:
This experiment includes two parts, the first part is to investigate the relationship between a simple
pendulum motion and factors affecting the period of a complete swing of a bob, and the second part
is to measure the gravitational acceleration of an oscillating pendulum with a string of length and
calculate the time for one oscillation by using capstone software.

Part A
This lab investigates the relationship between a simple pendulum motion and factors affecting the
period of a complete swing of a bob. To calculate a more accurate time period of one swing of a
pendulum, the stopwatch was used to track the time of ten oscillations, this time was then divided
by ten to obtain the time period for a single oscillation. For a pendulum of length 0.40 m, the
pendulum completed a single oscillation in a period of 12.36 s. For a pendulum of length 0.50 m,
the time period was 14.23 s, and a pendulum of length 0.61 m has a period was 15.89 s. From the
following data, we can conclude that the period of one oscillation would change in proportion to
the length of the pendulum. If the length of the pendulum increases, so will the period of one
oscillation, if the pendulum string’s length decreases, the period decreases. And the only factor
affecting the period in a simple pendulum such as this is the length of the pendulum and no other.
Generating a graph of acceleration due to gravity would use values of string length per period
𝑇 2𝑔
squared, this is derived from the Equation 𝐿 = The graph in Figure 2 can then be used to
4𝜋2
compute the slope of the line, which is demonstrated to be. Obtaining gravitational acceleration
would be finally obtained by multiplying the slope value by, this computes a value of 8.37 𝑚/𝑠 2 .
This value of gravitational acceleration is expected to be 9.8 m/s2 , the value between the
experimental value and the actual value suggests some amount of error, which is calculated later
to be 14.6%.

Error in these types of experiments are mostly reaction time errors, there is a high chance that
there is a delay between the time to start the stopwatch and the time to release the bob and the
pendulum starts moving. There is also a possibility of starting the timer a little early, all these
errors are reaction time errors and can be more accurate if multiple trials of the experiment are
conducted, or as we did in this lab, set the timer for more than one oscillation, as it is better to
keep time for extended periods rather than shorter periods. Another source of error would be
exerting force on the bob when releasing it, this error could be avoided by simply not adding any
force to the bob and just releasing it, or by waiting some time before starting the timer, this will
give the pendulum the time to stabilize its motion and operate normally. Including considerations
for air resistance in the analysis of experimental data can provide a more accurate interpretation of
the results and improve the overall reliability of the experiment.

February 2024
Part B
This lab also makes use of a motion sensor to measure the gravitational acceleration of an
oscillating pendulum with a string of length 0.70 m, a pendulum is set to move in the path of a
motion sensor. Using the graph generated by capstone software, the time period of one oscillation
was computed from two consecutive crests in the graph, subtracting the second value (1.7s) from
the first (3.4s), the period for one swing turned out to be 1.7s. Using the same equation for
calculating gravitational acceleration, we calculated acceleration to be 9.56 𝑚/𝑠^2 . This value
was close to the actual gravitation constant, so our error between the two values is 2.49%. As we
can see, a motion sensor was able to provide a more accurate value of the acceleration due to
gravity, this is because manually setting timers would most probably have some reaction time
errors, but a motion sensor would immediately detect motion, which would eliminate any reaction
time error. Other errors such as miscounting rounds are also not likely to happen in this setting.
Nonetheless, every experiment has some unpredictable errors, in the case of using a motion
sensor, any external factor such as noise or movement around the sensor could cause interference
with the data, resulting in inaccurate detections and graph generations. Try isolating the setup as
much as possible and stabilizing the stand, to have as much control over the experiment as
possible. Another common error with motion sensors is the bad alignment of the pendulum, this is
reflected in some parts of the generated graph where the troughs are not drawn correctly. This
error can be solved by making better alignments, some trial and error along with better
positioning could solve this problem.

Conclusion:
To sum up, this experiment aims to measure the period of a simple pendulum using scientific
methods and to find the acceleration due to gravity using a motion sensor. Through this experiment,
we were able to conclude that the time period of a pendulum depends proportionally on the length
of the string only; the more we added length to the spring, the more time it took for the pendulum
to complete one oscillation. In part A, the calculation of acceleration due to gravity was 8.37 m/s^2
with a percentage error equal to 14.6%, and in part B gravitational acceleration was 9.56 m/s^2 ,
with a percentage error of 2.49%. In conclusion, we understood the proportionality and
relationships between the period of a pendulum and the length, mass, and amplitude.

February 2024