1.

AIM OF THE LABORATORY EXPERIMENT

This experiment aims at studying the behavior of a simple, in order to realise the
following objectives:
a) Variation of length and angle with period using a steel ball
b) Variation of length and angle using a plastic ball

2. THEORETICAL BACKROUND
a) Simple Pendulum
When a simple pendulum swings through a small arc, it executes simple
harmonic motion of period T given by equation.
T =2

l
g

Where g is the gravitational field strength and l is the distance from the
suspension point to the center of the pivot point.

3. EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS

The following list comprises of the apparatus to be used to complete this

experiment
a) String/Cord
b) Steel & Plastic ball
c) Main frame
d) Meter-stick/tape measure
e) Protractor
f) Rectangular bar
g) Stop watch
a) Simple pendulum
The schematic representation of the simple pendulum is shown in Figure
-1. (a), which consists of a steel ball of mass m suspended by a massless cord of length l. The system is given an angular displacement , and
as a result the pendulum oscillates in the vertical plane by a time varying
angle (t) with the vertical direction.

Figure 1: General layout of the experimental setup.

4. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Note and record data on each step.

Simple Pendulums
Steel and plastic balls are used separately in this experiment as follows:
1) Attach the cord to the steel ball at one end, and attach the other end to the
main frame. Record the length of the cord.
2) Displace the ball from its neutral position by an angle of your choice, and then
release it to oscillate freely. Measure and record the time required to complete
ten oscillations.
3) Adjust the cord length to a new value and repeat step-2.
4) Repeat step-3 Five more times so that eight pairs of l and T are recorded.
5) Replace the still ball with the plastic ball and repeat steps-1 through 4.

Figure 2: Shows the setup of the simple pendulums.

5. RESULTS AND GRAPHS

The tables below show all the data processing results.
3

Using a Steel ball

Table 1: Variation of period with length

Keeping the same angle measure the period of a pendulum for five different lengths.

Trial

Mass
(g)

1
2
3
4
5

Length
(mm)
60
60
60
60
60

Angle
()
32.5
39.8
46.5
49.2
51.0

Time
(sec)
20
20
20
20
20

10.73
11.86
12.65
12.92
13.19

Table 2: Variation of period with angle

Keeping the same length measure the period of a pendulum for five different angles.

Trial
1
2
3
4
5

Mass
(g)

Length
(mm)
60
60
60
60
60

Angle
()
400
400
400
400
400

Time
(sec)
25
20
15
10
5

Using a Plastic ball

Table 3: Variation of period with length

4

11.69
11.58
11.64
11.52
11.67

Keeping the same angle measure the period of a pendulum for five different lengths.

Trial

Mass
(g)

1
2
3
4
5

Length
(mm)
16
16
16
16
16

Angle
()
31.4
36.3
46.0
52.5
57.2

Time
(sec)
20
20
20
20
20

10.29
11.12
12.51
13.32
13.92

Table 4: Variation of period with angle

Keeping the same length measure the period of a pendulum for five different angles.

Trial
1
2
3
4
5

Mass
(g)

Length
(mm)
16
16
16
16
16

Angle
()
400
400
400
400
400

Time
(sec)
25
20
15
10
5

6. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
a) What do we mean by Simple Harmonic Motion?

11.65
11.50
11.44
11.40
11.26

A body moves with Simple Harmonic Motion if its acceleration is proportional to

the distance moved from a fixed point in its path and is always directed toward
that point.
b) What effect do the length of the cord and the angle of displacement have on the
period of a simple pendulum?
As the length of the cord and/or the angle of displacement increase, the time of a
full cycle, known as the period, increase directly proportional if the mass of the
object stays constant.
c) What is the effect of replacing the steel ball with a plastic ball of the same size on
the period of a simple pendulum?
When the steel ball is replaced with a plastic ball the time was less due to the
decrease of mass, since the plastic ball is lighter than the steel ball.
d) A pendulum with a period of 1.8s on Earth is moved to another planet. On the
planet, its period is 25s. What can you conclude about this new planet?
A: The force of gravity on the new planet is the same as it is on Earth.
B: The force of gravity on the new planet is greater than it is on Earth.
C: The force of gravity on the new planet is less than it is on Earth.
D: There is not enough information to answer the question.
C
e)

7. CONCLUSION
The conclusion from the data captured from simple pendulum:

Steel ball: what we have found in the experiment is that the steel ball is pulled by
gravity forces and that causes it to take long to complete an oscillation. This means
that the longer the length the more time it takes to complete oscillation.
And according to hooks law: the length is directly proportional to the time. The
displacement is proportional to the time.
There are errors that have occurred during the experiment, when taking time. The
stop watch did not really a line with the experiment due to human reaction time
error.
Plastics: air resistance played its part for plastic which caused systemic problem
As the angle decrease the time to complete the oscillation its slow.
This experiment has helps us understand simple harmonic motion using plastic ball
and steel ball. The relationship between displacement and time on a small mass.
For the steel ball that is length change and the time taken to complete a oscillation

Calculation
Steel ball

T =2

l
g

T =2

0.0325
9.81

= 0.3616 sec
Plastic:

T =2

0.4
9.81

= 1.26 sec