Sample Pendulum - Assignment Example

By varying the length, L, of the pendulum and measuring the corresponding T, the time period it is possible to calculate the acceleration due to gravity, g. You will need to manipulate the equation to determine the data you will have to plot on a graph.

Procedure

• A pendulum bob was suspended from between two blocks of wood that was held in a clamp attached to the clamp stand so that the pendulum length from the point of suspension to the center of the bob is 30cm.
• The pendulum was displaced by less than 10o from the vertical and set into simple harmonic motion.
• Time taken for the pendulum for 10 swings was then measured.
• The procedure was repeated for the varying lengths of the pendulum.
• The data obtained were then used to calculate the acceleration due to gravity, g.

Discussion

            The results obtained were very interesting since the results exhibit simplicity. The only things that affected the period of a simple pendulum were the length and the acceleration because of gravity. The period was completely dependent on the factors like mass. When the length of the pendulum is precise, like it was known in the experiment, it can actually be used to measure the acceleration due to gravity. When the angle is less than approximately 15o, the period T for a pendulum is nearly independent of amplitude, as with simple harmonic oscillators. For those amplitudes that are more than 15o the period increases gradually with the amplitude. The period increases asymptotically to infinity as the angle approaches 180o is an unstable equilibrium point for the pendulum (Aggarwal, Verma and Arun., 2005, 35). The only exception that Gravity exerts a force on every object that is exposed to it. The force of gravity is proportional to the mass of the object it is exerting that force on. A constant of proportionality refers to the acceleration of gravity (g). The gravity acceleration (g) decreases with the increasing elevation; however, for a few thousand feet above the Earth’s surface, it remains fairly constant.