Pendulum:Determination of the Acceleration Due to Gravity

Go to:https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/pendulum-lab/latest/pendulum-lab_en.html

Click on "Lab"

Part A: The Effect of Amplitude on the Period

Set up a 0.7 m pendulum using a 1 kg mass.Leave the gravity as that of "Earth" and friction to "none". Pull the bob back 5 and allow the pendulum to swing. Record the Period using the "Period Timer" located on the bottom left of the screen. Record the values on the data table. Repeat with amplitudes 10 and 15. Answer the question on the data sheet.

Amplitude	Period (Sec)
5
10
15

Does the mass seem to have any significant effect on the period?

Part B: The Effect of Mass on the Period

Set up a 0.7 m pendulum using a 1 kg mass.Leave the gravity as that of "Earth" and friction to "none". Pull the bob back 5 and allow the pendulum to swing. Record the Period using the "Period Timer" located on the bottom left of the screen. Record the values on the data table. Repeat with masses of 0.2 kg and 0.5 kg.

Mass (kg)	Period (Sec)
0.2
0.5
1

Does the mass seem to have any significant effect on the period?

Part C: The Effect of Length on the Period

Set up a 0.7 m pendulum using a 1 kg mass.Leave the gravity as that of "Earth" and friction to "none". Pull the bob back 5 and allow the pendulum to swing. Record the Period using the "Period Timer" located on the bottom left of the screen. Record the values on the data table. Repeat with the other lengths on the data sheet. Calculate the Periodicity of the pendulum by squaring the period.

Length (L) (m)	Period (T) (sec)	Periodicity (T2) (sec2)
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0

Using Excel or Desmos, plot Period on the Y axis and Length on the X axis. Place the graph below. Is this a linear relationship?

Graph

Using Excel or Desmos, Plot Periodicity on the Y axis and Length on the X axis. Place the graph below. Is this a linear relationship?

Graph

Part D: The Effect of Gravity on the Period

Set up a 0.7 m pendulum using a 1 kg mass.Leave friction to "none". Adjust the Gravity to 2 m/s². Pull the bob back 5 and allow the pendulum to swing. Record the Period using the "Period Timer" located on the bottom left of the screen. Record the values on the data table. Repeat with the other Gravity values on the data table. Find the Inverse gravity and the Periodicity.

Gravity (m/s2)	Inverse Gravity (1/ m/s2)	Period (s)	Periodicity (s2)
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20

Using Excel or Desmos, plot Period on the Y axis and Gravity on the X axis. Place the graph below. Is this a linear relationship?

Graph

Using Excel or Desmos, Plot Period on the Y axis and Inverse Gravity on the X axis. Place the graph below. Is this a linear relationship?

Graph

Using Excel or Desmos, Plot Periodicity on the Y axis and Inverse Gravity on the X axis. Place the graph below. Is this a linear relationship?

Graph

Part E: Analysis

(Remember that directly proportional means - as one variable increases, the other variable increases; Inversely proportional means - as one variable increases, the other variable decreases)

1. The mass of the pendulum bob is _________________ to the period of the pendulum.
   1. inversely proportional
   2. directly proportional
   3. not related

1. In your own words, describe how you were able to conclude the above answer from this experiment.

1. Small changes in amplitude of the pendulum bob are ________ to the period of the pendulum.
   1. inversely proportional
   2. directly proportional
   3. not related

1. In your own words, describe how you were able to conclude the above answer from this experiment.

1. The length of the pendulum is _____________ to the period of the pendulum
   1. inversely proportional
   2. directly proportional
   3. not related

1. In your own words, describe how you were able to conclude the above answer from this experiment.

1. The acceleration due to gravity is ______________ to the period of the pendulum
   1. inversely proportional
   2. directly proportional
   3. not related

1. describe how you were able to conclude the above answer from this experiment.