PC1141 Physics I

Simple Pendulum
1 Objectives
Investigate the dependence of the period T of a pendulum on the length L of the pendulum. Demonstrate that the period T of a pendulum depends slightly on the angular amplitude of the oscillation for large angles but that the dependence is negligible for small angular amplitude of oscillation. Evaluate the extent to which the total mechanical energy of the system is conserved as the pendulum oscillates.

Equipment List
Photogate Timer Laboratory balance, ruler and protractor

Theory

A mass M moving in one dimension is said to exhibit simple harmonic motion if its displacement x from some equilibrium position is described by a single sine or cosine function of time t. This happens when the particle is subjected to a force F directly proportional to the magnitude of the displacement and directed toward the equilibrium position. Mathematically, this is F = kx (1) The period T of the motion is the time for one complete oscillation and it is determined by the mass M and the constant k. The equation that describes the dependence of T on M and k is M (2) T = 2 k A pendulum does not exactly satisfy the conditions for simple harmonic motion, but it is approximates them under certain conditions. An ideal pendulum is a point mass M on end of a massless string with the other end xed as shown in Figure 1. The motion of the system takes place in a vertical plane when the mass M is released from an initial angle with respect to the vertical.
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Figure 1: A schematic diagram for a simple pendulum. The downward weight of the pendulum can be resolved into two components as shown in Figure 1. The component M g cos equals the magnitude of the tension N in the string. The component M g sin acts tangent to the arc along which the mass M moves. This component provides the force that drives the system. In equation form, the force F along the direction of motion is F = M g sin (3) For small values of the initial angle , we can use the approximation sin tan x/L in (3) which gives Mg x (4) F = L Although (4) is an approximation, it is of the form of (1) with k = M g/L. Using that value of k in (2) gives M L T = 2 = 2 (5) M g/L g (5) predicts that the period T of a simple pendulum is independent of the mass M and the angular amplitude and depends only on the length L of the pendulum. The exact solution to the period of a simple pendulum without making the small angle approximation leads to an innite series of terms, with each successive term becoming smaller. (6) gives the rst three terms in the series. They are sucient to determine the very slight dependence of the period T on the angular amplitude of the motion. T = 2 L 1 9 1 + sin2 + + sin4 g 4 2 64 2 (6)

For an ideal pendulum with no friction, the motion repeats indenitely with no reduction in the amplitude as time goes on. For a real pendulum, there will always be some friction and the amplitude of the motion decreases slowly with time. However, for small initial amplitudes, the change in the period as the amplitude decreases in negligible. This fact is the basis for the pendulum clock. Pendulum clocks, in one form or another, have been used for more than 300 years. For more than 100 years, clockmakers have built extremely accurate clocks by successively employing devices to compensate for small changes in the length of the pendulum caused by temperature variations.
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Laboratory Work

Part A: Period of Oscillation versus Length of the Pendulum In this part of the experiment, you will investigate the relationship between pendulum length and the period of oscillation. A-1. Measure the mass of the pendulum bob. Record this value as M in Data Table 1. A-2. Setup the pendulum and photogate as shown in Figure 2.

Note: The pendulum should be suspended from two points as shown for better results. This helps keep the swing of the pendulum in the plane perpendicular to the photogate.

Figure 2: Setting up the equipment. A-3. Measure the length of the pendulum and record it as L in Data Table 1. If you are suspending the bob from two points, L is the distance from the center of mass of the bob to the point midway between the points of suspension. A-4. Set the Photogate Timer to GATE mode. Adjust the height of the photogate so the bob interrupts the photogate beam as it swings. A-5. Switch the Photogate Timer to PENDULUM mode. Start the bob swinging, but keep the swings relatively small. Note: In PENDULUM mode, the timer measures the period of one complete oscillation. Timing begins as the pendulum rst cuts through the beam. The timer ignores the next interruption, which corresponds to the pendulum swinging back in the opposite direction. Timing stops at the beginning of the third interruption, as the pendulum completes one full oscillation.

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Note: The Photogate Timer uses narrow-beam infrared photogate (see Figure 3) to provide the timing signals. An LED in one arm of the photogate emits a narrow infra-red beam. As long as the beam strikes the detector in the opposite arm of the photogate, the signal to the timer indicates that the beam is unblocked. When an object blocks the beam so it does not strike the detector, the signal to the timer changes. Figure 3: The photogate head. A-6. Press the RESET button on the Photogate Timer. Record the rst time displayed as T1 in Data Table 1. This is the period of the pendulum, the time for one complete oscillation. Repeat this measurement TWO more times and record them as T2 and T3 in Data Table 1. A-7. Change the string length and re-measure the period. Do this for SIX dierent string lengths. Record your measurement in Data Table 1. Part B: Period of Oscillation versus Angular Amplitude In this part of the experiment, you will investigate the dependence of the period T of a pendulum on angular amplitude of the oscillation with L and M constant. B-1. Construct a pendulum with any desired length. Measure the length of the pendulum and record it as L in Data Table 2. B-2. Measure the period of the pendulum with angular amplitude 5.0 . Repeat two more times for a total of three trials at this amplitude. Record all results as T1 through T3 in Data Table 2. B-3. Repeat the procedure above for each value of amplitudes in Data Table 2. Do three trials for each amplitude and record the results in Data Table 2. Part C: Conservation of Mechanical Energy In this part of the experiment, you will determine whether mechanical energy is conserved as the pendulum swings. C-1. Using a long string (about one meter long), to suspend the pendulum between the photogate as shown in Figure 2. Attach a rigid protractor as shown in Figure 2. This protractor will be used to keep track of the angular amplitude (the angle between the string and the vertical).

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C-2. Measure the length of the pendulum and record it as L in Data Table 3. Measure the mass of the pendulum and record it as M in Data Table 3. C-3. Now adjust the position of the photogate as accurately as you can so that the photogate beam strikes the center of the pendulum bob. C-4. Support a ruler just under the bob, so you can measure the position of the bob but the ruler does not interfere with the photogate beam (see Figure 4. Pull the pendulum bob to one side, then move it slowly through the photogate, along its path of oscillation. There should be no slack in the string. Using the ruler, note the position of the bob when the photogate is rst interrupted (the LED lights up) and again when the bob is out of the beam (the LED goes o). Record the dierence between these two points as d in Data Table 3.

Figure 4: Measuring d.

C-5. Now set the Photogate Timer to GATE mode. Pull the bob to one side along its path of oscillation. Again, be sure there is no slack in the string. Measure the angle the string makes with the vertical and record this starting angle as in Data Table 3. Note: In GATE mode, timing begins when the beam is rst blocked and continues until the beam is unblocked. Use this mode to measure the velocity of an object as it passes through the photogate. If an object of length L blocks the photogate for a time t, the average velocity of the object as it passed through the photogate was L/t. C-6. Release the bob so the pendulum oscillates. Record the rst time you see on timer display as t1 in Data Table 3. This is the time during which the bob blocked the photogate beam as it passed through the photogate. Repeat this measurement TWO more times, starting the bob from the same height each time. Record your results as t2 and t3 in Data Table 3. C-7. Change the starting height of the bob and repeat steps C-5 and C-6. Do this for SIX dierent starting heights. Last updated: Wednesday 1st October, 2008 4:42am (KHCM)
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