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PendulumMotion
VibrationalMotion
PropertiesofPeriodicMotion
PendulumMotion
MotionofaMassonaSpring

Asimplependulumconsistsofarelativelymassiveobjecthungbyastringfromafixedsupport.It
typicallyhangsverticallyinitsequilibriumposition.Themassiveobjectisaffectionatelyreferredtoas
the pendulumbob
.Whenthebobisdisplacedfromequilibriumandthenreleased,itbeginsitsbackand
forthvibrationaboutitsfixedequilibriumposition.Themotionisregularandrepeating,anexampleof
periodicmotion.Pendulummotionwasintroducedearlierinthislessonaswemadeanattemptto
understandthenatureofvibratingobjects.Pendulummotionwasdiscussedagainaswelookedat
themathematicalpropertiesofobjectsthatareinperiodicmotion.Herewewillinvestigatependulum
motioninevengreaterdetailaswefocusuponhowavarietyofquantitieschangeoverthecourseof
time.Suchquantitieswillincludeforces,position,velocityandenergybothkineticandpotential
energy.

ForceAnalysisofaPendulum
Earlierinthislessonwelearnedthatanobjectthatisvibratingisacteduponbyarestoringforce.The
restoringforcecausesthevibratingobjecttoslowdownasitmovesawayfromtheequilibriumposition
andtospeedupasitapproachestheequilibriumposition.Itisthisrestoringforcethatisresponsiblefor
thevibration.Sowhatforcesactuponapendulumbob?Andwhatistherestoringforcefora
pendulum?Therearetwodominantforcesactinguponapendulum bob atalltimesduringthecourseof
itsmotion.Thereistheforceofgravitythatactsdownwarduponthebob.ItresultsfromtheEarth's
massattractingthemassofthebob.Andthereisatensionforceactingupwardandtowardsthepivot
pointofthependulum.Thetensionforceresultsfromthestringpullinguponthe bob ofthependulum.
Inourdiscussion,wewill ignore
theinfluenceofairresistanceathirdforcethatalwaysopposesthe
motionofthebobasitswingstoandfro.Theairresistanceforceisrelativelyweakcomparedtothe
twodominantforces.
Thegravityforceishighlypredictableitisalwaysinthesamedirection(down)andalwaysofthesame
magnitudemass*9.8N/kg.Thetensionforceisconsiderablylesspredictable.Bothitsdirectionandits
magnitudechangeasthebobswingstoandfro.Thedirectionofthetensionforceisalwaystowardsthe
pivotpoint.Soasthebobswingstotheleftofitsequilibriumposition,thetensionforceisatanangle
directedupwardsandtotheright.Andasthebobswingstotherightofitsequilibriumposition,the
tensionisdirectedupwardsandtotheleft.Thediagrambelowdepictsthedirectionofthesetwoforces
atfivedifferentpositionsoverthecourseofthependulum'spath.

Inphysicalsituationsinwhichtheforcesactingonanobjectarenotinthesame,oppositeor
perpendiculardirections,itiscustomarytoresolveoneormoreoftheforcesintocomponents.Thiswas
thepracticeusedintheanalysisofsignhangingproblemsandinclinedplaneproblems.Typicallyoneor
moreoftheforcesareresolvedintoperpendicularcomponentsthatliealongcoordinateaxesthatare
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directedinthedirectionoftheaccelerationorperpendiculartoit.Sointhecaseofapendulum,itisthe
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gravityforcewhichgetsresolvedsincethetensionforceisalreadydirected
perpendiculartothemotion.Thediagramattherightshowsthependulum
bobatapositiontotherightofitsequilibriumpositionandmidwaytothe
pointofmaximumdisplacement.Acoordinateaxissystemissketchedonthe
diagramandtheforceofgravityisresolvedintotwocomponentsthatlie
alongtheseaxes.Oneofthecomponentsisdirectedtangenttothecircular
arcalongwhichthependulumbobmovesthiscomponentislabeledFgrav
tangent.Theothercomponentisdirectedperpendiculartothearcitis
labeledFgravperp.Youwillnoticethattheperpendicularcomponentof
gravityisintheoppositedirectionofthetensionforce.Youmightalsonotice
thatthetensionforceisslightlylargerthanthiscomponentofgravity.The
factthatthetensionforce(Ftens)isgreaterthantheperpendicular
componentofgravity(Fgravperp)meanstherewillbeanetforcewhichis
perpendiculartothearcofthebob'smotion.Thismustbethecasesinceweexpectthatobjectsthat
movealongcircularpathswillexperienceaninwardorcentripetalforce.Thetangentialcomponentof
gravity(Fgravtangent)isunbalancedbyanyotherforce.Sothereisanetforcedirectedalongthe
othercoordinateaxes.Itisthistangentialcomponentofgravitywhichactsastherestoringforce.Asthe
pendulumbobmovestotherightoftheequilibriumposition,thisforcecomponentisdirectedopposite
itsmotionbacktowardstheequilibriumposition.
Theaboveanalysisappliesforasinglelocationalongthependulum'sarc.Attheotherlocationsalong
thearc,thestrengthofthetensionforcewillvary.Yettheprocessofresolvinggravityintotwo
componentsalongaxesthatareperpendicularandtangenttothearcremainsthesame.Thediagram
belowshowstheresultsoftheforceanalysisforseveralotherpositions.

Thereareacouplecommentstobemade.First,observethediagramforwhenthebobisdisplacedto
itsmaximumdisplacementtotherightoftheequilibriumposition.Thisisthepositioninwhichthe
pendulumbobmomentarilyhasavelocityof0m/sandischangingitsdirection.Thetensionforce
(Ftens)andtheperpendicularcomponentofgravity(Fgravperp)balanceeachother.Atthisinstantin
time,thereisnonetforcedirectedalongtheaxisthatisperpendiculartothemotion.Sincethemotion
oftheobjectis momentarilypaused
,thereisnoneedforacentripetalforce.
Second,observethediagramforwhenthebobisattheequilibriumposition(thestringiscompletely
vertical).Whenatthisposition,thereisnocomponentofforcealongthetangentdirection.When
movingthroughtheequilibriumposition,therestoringforceismomentarilyabsent.Having
been restored
totheequilibriumposition,thereisnorestoringforce.Therestoringforceisonlyneeded
whenthependulumbobhasbeendisplacedawayfromtheequilibriumposition.Youmightalsonotice
thatthetensionforce(Ftens)isgreaterthantheperpendicularcomponentofgravity(Fgravperp)when
thebobmovesthroughthisequilibriumposition.Sincethebobisinmotionalongacirculararc,there
mustbeanetcentripetalforceatthisposition.

TheSinusoidalNatureofPendulumMotion
Inthepreviouspartofthislesson,weinvestigatedthesinusoidalnatureofthemotionofamassona
spring.Wewillconductasimilarinvestigationhereforthemotionofapendulumbob.Let'ssuppose
thatwecouldmeasuretheamountthatthependulumbobisdisplacedtotheleftortotherightofits
equilibriumorrestpositionoverthecourseoftime.Adisplacementtotherightoftheequilibrium 2/7
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positionwouldberegardedasapositivedisplacementandadisplacementtotheleftwouldbe
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regardedasanegativedisplacement.Usingthisreferenceframe,
theequilibriumpositionwouldberegardedasthezeroposition.
Andsupposethatweconstructedaplotshowingthevariationin
positionwithrespecttotime.Theresultingpositionvs.timeplotis
shownbelow.Similartowhatwasobservedforthemassona
spring,thepositionofthependulumbob(measuredalongthearc
relativetoitsrestposition)isafunctionofthesineofthetime.

Nowsupposethatweuseourmotiondetectortoinvestigatethehowthevelocityofthependulum
changeswithrespecttothetime.Asthependulumbobdoes thebackandforth
,thevelocityis
continuouslychanging.Therewillbetimesatwhichthevelocityisanegativevalue(formoving
leftward)andothertimesatwhichitwillbeapositivevalue(formovingrightward).Andofcoursethere
willbemomentsintimeatwhichthevelocityis0m/s.Ifthevariationsinvelocityoverthecourseof
timewereplotted,theresultinggraphwouldresembletheoneshownbelow.

Nowlet'strytounderstandtherelationshipbetweenthepositionofthebobalongthearcofitsmotion
andthevelocitywithwhichitmoves.Supposeweidentifyseverallocationsalongthearcandthen
relatethesepositionstothevelocityofthependulumbob.Thegraphicbelowshowsanefforttomake
suchaconnectionbetweenpositionandvelocity.

Asisoftensaid,apictureisworthathousandwords.Nowherecomethewords.Theplotaboveis
basedupontheequilibriumposition(D)beingdesignatedasthezeroposition.Adisplacementtotheleft
oftheequilibriumpositionisregardedasanegativeposition.Adisplacementtotherightisregardedas
apositiveposition.Ananalysisoftheplotsshowsthatthevelocityisleastwhenthedisplacementis
greatest.Andthevelocityisgreatestwhenthedisplacementofthebobisleast.Thefurtherthebobhas
movedawayfromtheequilibriumposition,thesloweritmovesandthecloserthebobistothe
equilibriumposition,thefasteritmoves.Thiscanbeexplainedbythefactthatasthebobmovesaway
fromtheequilibriumposition,thereisarestoringforcethatopposesitsmotion.Thisforceslowsthebob
down.SoasthebobmovesleftwardfrompositionDtoEtoFtoG,theforceandaccelerationis 3/7
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directedrightwardandthevelocitydecreasesasitmovesalongthearcfromDtoG.AtGthe
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maximumdisplacementtotheleftthependulumbobhasavelocityof0m/s.Youmightthinkofthe
bobasbeing momentarilypaused
andreadytochangeitsdirection.Nextthebobmovesrightward
alongthearcfromGtoFtoEtoD.Asitdoes,therestoringforceisdirectedtotherightinthesame
directionasthebobismoving.Thisforcewillacceleratethebob,givingitamaximumspeedatposition
Dtheequilibriumposition.AsthebobmovespastpositionD,itismovingrightwardalongthearc
towardsC,thenBandthenA.Asitdoes,thereisaleftward
restoringforceopposingitsmotionandcausingittoslowdown.So
asthedisplacementincreasesfromDtoA,thespeeddecreasesdue
totheopposingforce.OncethebobreachespositionAthe
maximumdisplacementtotherightithasattainedavelocityof0
m/s.Onceagain,thebob'svelocityisleastwhenthedisplacement
isgreatest.Thebobcompletesitscycle,movingleftwardfromAto
BtoCtoD.AlongthisarcfromAtoD,therestoringforceisinthe
directionofthemotion,thusspeedingthebobup.Soitwouldbe
logicaltoconcludethatasthepositiondecreases(alongthearc
fromAtoD),thevelocityincreases.OnceatpositionD,thebobwill
haveazerodisplacementandamaximumvelocity.Thevelocityis
greatestwhenthedisplacementisleast.Theanimationattheright
(usedwiththepermissionofWikimediaCommonsspecialthankstoHubertChristiaen)providesavisual
depictionoftheseprinciples.Theaccelerationvectorthatisshowncombinesboththeperpendicularand
thetangentialaccelerationsintoasinglevector.Youwillnoticethatthisvectorisentirelytangenttothe
arcwhenatmaximumdisplacementthisisconsistentwiththeforceanalysisdiscussedabove.Andthe
vectorisvertical(towardsthecenterofthearc)whenattheequilibriumposition.Thisalsoisconsistent
withtheforceanalysisdiscussedabove.

EnergyAnalysis
InapreviouschapterofThePhysicsClassroomTutorial,theenergypossessedbyapendulumbobwas
discussed.Wewillexpandonthatdiscussionhereaswemakeanefforttoassociatethemotion
characteristicsdescribedabovewiththeconceptsofkineticenergy,potentialenergyandtotal
mechanicalenergy.
Thekineticenergypossessedbyanobjectistheenergyitpossessesduetoitsmotion.Itisaquantity
thatdependsuponbothmassandspeed.Theequationthatrelateskineticenergy(KE)tomass(m)
andspeed(v)is
KE=mv2
Thefasteranobjectmoves,themorekineticenergythatitwillpossess.Wecancombinethisconcept
withthediscussionaboveabouthowspeedchangesduringthecourseofmotion.Thisblendingof
conceptswouldleadustoconcludethatthekineticenergyofthependulumbobincreasesasthebob
approachestheequilibriumposition.Andthekineticenergydecreasesasthebobmovesfurtheraway
fromtheequilibriumposition.

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Thepotentialenergypossessedbyanobjectisthestoredenergyofposition.Twotypesofpotential
energyarediscussedinThePhysicsClassroomTutorialgravitationalpotentialenergyandelastic
potentialenergy.Elasticpotentialenergyisonlypresentwhenaspring(orotherelasticmedium)is
compressedorstretched.Asimplependulumdoesnotconsistofaspring.Theformofpotentialenergy
possessedbyapendulumbobisgravitationalpotentialenergy.Theamountofgravitationalpotential
energyisdependentuponthemass(m)oftheobjectandtheheight(h)oftheobject.Theequationfor
gravitationalpotentialenergy(PE)is
PE=mgh
wheregrepresentsthegravitationalfieldstrength(sometimesreferredtoastheaccelerationcausedby
gravity)andhasthevalueof9.8N/kg.
Theheightofanobjectisexpressedrelativetosomearbitrarilyassignedzerolevel .Inotherwords,the
heightmustbemeasuredasaverticaldistanceabovesomereferenceposition.Forapendulumbob,it
iscustomarytocallthelowestpositionthereferencepositionorthezerolevel.Sowhenthebobisat
theequilibriumposition(thelowestposition),itsheightiszeroanditspotentialenergyis0J.Asthe
pendulumbobdoes thebackandforth ,therearetimesduringwhichthebobismovingawayfromthe
equilibriumposition.Asitdoes,itsheightisincreasingasitmovesfurtherandfurtheraway.Itreaches
amaximumheightasitreachesthepositionofmaximumdisplacementfromtheequilibriumposition.As
thebobmovestowardsitsequilibriumposition,itdecreasesitsheightanddecreasesitspotential
energy.

Nowlet'sputthesetwoconceptsofkineticenergyandpotentialenergytogetherasweconsiderthe
motionofapendulumbobmovingalongthearcshowninthediagramattheright.Wewilluse
anenergybarcharttorepresentthechangesinthetwoformsofenergy.Theamountofeachformof
energyisrepresentedbyabar.Theheightofthebarisproportionaltotheamountofthatformof 5/7
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energy.Inadditiontothepotentialenergy(PE)barandkineticenergy(KE)bar,thereisathirdbar
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labeledTME.TheTMEbarrepresentsthetotalamountofmechanicalenergypossessedbythe
pendulumbob.Thetotalmechanicalenergyissimplythesumofthetwoformsofenergykineticplus
potentialenergy.TakesometimetoinspectthebarchartsshownbelowforpositionsA,B,D,FandG.
Whatdoyounotice?

Whenyouinspectthebarcharts,itisevidentthatasthebobmovesfromAtoD,thekineticenergyis
increasingandthepotentialenergyisdecreasing.However,thetotalamountofthesetwoformsof
energyisremainingconstant.WhateverpotentialenergyislostingoingfrompositionAtopositionD
appearsaskineticenergy.Thereisatransformationofpotentialenergyintokineticenergyasthebob
movesfrompositionAtopositionD.Yetthetotalmechanicalenergyremainsconstant.Wewouldsay
thatmechanicalenergyisconserved.AsthebobmovespastpositionDtowardspositionG,theopposite
isobserved.Kineticenergydecreasesasthebobmovesrightwardand(moreimportantly)upward
towardpositionG.Thereisanincreaseinpotentialenergytoaccompanythisdecreaseinkinetic
energy.Energyisbeingtransformedfromkineticformintopotentialform.Yet,asillustratedby
theTMEbar,thetotalamountofmechanicalenergyisconserved.Thisveryprincipleofenergy
conservationwasexplainedintheEnergychapterofThePhysicsClassroomTutorial.

ThePeriodofaPendulum
Ourfinaldiscussionwillpertaintotheperiodofthependulum.Asdiscussedpreviouslyinthislesson,
theperiodisthetimeittakesforavibratingobjecttocompleteitscycle.Inthecaseofpendulum,itis
thetimeforthependulumtostartatone extreme extreme
,traveltotheopposite ,andthenreturnto
theoriginallocation.Herewewillbeinterestedinthequestion Whatvariablesaffecttheperiodofa
pendulum? Wewillconcernourselveswithpossiblevariables.Thevariablesarethemassofthe
pendulumbob,thelengthofthestringonwhichithangs,andthe angulardisplacement .Theangular
displacementor arcangle istheanglethatthestringmakeswiththeverticalwhenreleasedfromrest.
Thesethreevariablesandtheireffectontheperiodareeasilystudiedandareoftenthefocusofa
physicslabinanintroductoryphysicsclass.Thedatatablebelowprovidesrepresentativedataforsuch
astudy.
Trial Mass(kg) Length(m) ArcAngle() Period(s)
1 0.02 0.40 15.0 1.25
2 0.050 0.40 15.0 1.29
3 0.100 0.40 15.0 1.28
4 0.200 0.40 15.0 1.24
5 0.500 0.40 15.0 1.26
6 0.200 0.60 15.0 1.56
7 0.200 0.80 15.0 1.79
8 0.200 1.00 15.0 2.01
9 0.200 1.20 15.0 2.19
10 0.200 0.40 10.0 1.27
11 0.200 0.40 20.0 1.29
12 0.200 0.40 25.0 1.25
13 0.200 0.40 30.0 1.26

Intrials1through5,themassofthebobwassystematicallyalteredwhilekeepingtheotherquantities
constant.Bysodoing,theexperimenterswereabletoinvestigatethepossibleeffectofthemassupon
theperiod.Ascanbeseeninthesefivetrials,alterationsinmasshavelittleeffectupontheperiodof
thependulum.
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Intrials4and69,themassisheldconstantat0.200kgandthearcangleisheldconstantat15.
However,thelengthofthependulumisvaried.Bysodoing,theexperimenterswereabletoinvestigate
thepossibleeffectofthelengthofthestringupontheperiod.Ascanbeseeninthesefivetrials,
alterationsinlengthdefinitelyhaveaneffectupontheperiodofthependulum.Asthestringis
lengthened,theperiodofthependulumisincreased.Thereisadirectrelationshipbetweentheperiod
andthelength.
Finally,theexperimentersinvestigatedthepossibleeffectofthearcangleupontheperiodintrials4
and1013.Themassisheldconstantat0.200kgandthestringlengthisheldconstantat0.400m.As
canbeseenfromthesefivetrials,alterationsinthearcanglehavelittletonoeffectupontheperiodof
thependulum.
Sotheconclusionfromsuchanexperimentisthattheonevariablethateffectstheperiodofthe
pendulumisthelengthofthestring.Increasesinthelengthleadtoincreasesintheperiod.Butthe
investigationdoesn'thavetostopthere.Thequantitativeequationrelatingthesevariablescanbe
determinedifthedataisplottedandlinearregressionanalysisisperformed.Thetwoplotsbelow
representsuchananalysis.Ineachplot,valuesofperiod(thedependentvariable)areplacedonthe
verticalaxis.Intheplotontheleft,thelengthofthependulumisplacedonthehorizontalaxis.The
shapeofthecurveindicatessomesortofpowerrelationshipbetweenperiodandlength.Intheploton
theright,thesquarerootofthelengthofthependulum(lengthtothepower)isplotted.Theresults
oftheregressionanalysisareshown.

Slope:1.7536 Slope:2.0045
Yintercept:0.2616 Yintercept:0.0077
COR:0.9183 COR:0.9999
Theanalysisshowsthatthereisabetterfitofthedataandtheregressionlineforthegraphonthe
right.Assuch,theplotontherightisthebasisfortheequationrelatingtheperiodandthelength.For
thisdata,theequationis
Period=2.0045Length0.5+0.0077
UsingTasthesymbolforperiodandLasthesymbolforlength,theequationcanberewrittenas
T=2.0045L0.5+0.0077
Thecommonlyreportedequationbasedontheoreticaldevelopmentis
T=2(L/g)0.5
wheregisaconstantknownasthegravitationalfieldstrengthortheaccelerationofgravity(9.8N/kg).
Thevalueof2.0045fromtheexperimentalinvestigationagreeswellwithwhatwouldbeexpectedfrom
thistheoreticallyreportedequation.Substitutingthevalueofgintothisequation,yieldsa
proportionalityconstantof2/g0.5,whichis2.0071,verysimilartothe2.0045proportionalityconstant
developedintheexperiment.

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