Estimation of gravitational acceleration due to pendulim - Assignment Example

The use of a simple pendulum experiment in the study of motion helps to provide valuable insights into the acceleration of objects due to the gravitational force. In this experiment, a mass is set to swing to determine the number of oscillations in a particular period. Such an oscillatory motion is referred to as simple harmonic motion (JHA & JHA, 2009 pg. 275). This experiment was conducted to facilitate the understanding of the relationship between various parameters in an oscillatory system.

As such, the main objective of this experiment is to estimate the value of gravitational force acting on the pendulum and compare this value with the widely accepted value of 9.81m/s2, mathematically. The period is the time a simple pendulum takes to complete a single oscillation. This physical quantity does not depend on the mass and the amplitude of the swing. However, it is dependent on factors such as the pendulum’s length and the acceleration due to the gravitation. A shorter pendulum has a shorter period than a longer pendulum (Matthews 2005, p.133). In small swings (swings with small angles), the period, T, of a pendulum with a certain length, L, is given by; There exists only one true value of the period of a swinging pendulum; no matter the measurement method and how precise the instrumentation used can be applied.

As such, a measurement of the period is a true value approximation and gives either the true value or a value close to the true value. From the above, acceleration due to gravitational force can be determined by making g the subject of the formula, that is, g = 4π2L / T2. The apparatus used in the experiment included the pendulum bob, string, split cork, and timer. The thread of the pendulum was placed between two halves of a split cork and clamped to a firm support. Additionally, the length of the thread was set at a