Physics Lab Report

Pendulum Experiment
Scientific Question: How does the degree of inclination of a pendulum with a fixed weight and string length affect the period. Variables: Controlled Degree of inclination of pendulum Mass of weight Length of string Independent *There are no independent variables on this experiment Dependent Period of Pendulum

Hypothesis: The greater the degree of inclination, the longer it will take the pendulum to complete a period, regardless of the speed increase, therefore, the greater the degree, the greater the period. Reason: As only the degree of inclination is changed, it can be assumed that a greater degree of inclination implicates a greater distance the pendulum has to go through to complete a whole period, and although it passes through the rest position at a greater speed, it is not enough to beat the time it would take if it had a smaller degree. Materials: 1, Long millimeter ruler 1, 50 centimeter string 2, 100 gram weights 1, .01 seconds accuracy timer 1, Protractor

Procedure: Step 1: 2 100g weights were attached to a 50cm string; these two values remained constant through the rest of the experiment. The string is to be attached to the ruler. Step 2: Using a protractor, the pendulum was moved 10 degrees from its resting position. Step 3: The pendulum was released and its third period was measured using a timer. 3 trials were made. Step 4: The pendulum was moved 10 degrees more and step 3 was repeated. Step 5: Step 4 was repeated until it reached 60 degrees. Step 6: All the data was recorded. Data Table:

Uncertainty Chart:

Notes: It has to be noted that the trials' registered times are those of the third consecutive period and not the times of the first 3 periods and thus, the average is not that of the first 3 periods but of the third consecutive period, this means that each value mentioned counts as 1 period and not 3. The "Distance" values marked on the chart are those between the starting point of the pendulum and the furthermost point it reaches when it gets to half a period. This wasn't measured, but rather calculated in the following way: Using Sohcahtoa: Sin(Degree of inclination)=Opposite(whish is half the length of the distance)Hypotheneuse(which is 50cm) Therefore: Distance=[Sin(degree of inclination)x50]x2 The uncertainty is 0.01; this is mainly because that was the timers accuracy during the realization of the experiment. Another thing that helped have such uncertainty is the fact that the protractor was attached to the ruler so the time was more accurately stopped when it reached the exact degree it had started on.

Results Conclusion: The results for this experiment were mostly positive, mostly as they support the hypothesis and although there is one inaccuracy in the 20degree trial the rest of the results were logical. Through the graph it can be seen the experiment was well conducted but the flaw mentioned above did show some degree of mistake in the preparation and probably is the cause for the relatively low r squared value, which on .85 cannot be considered as positive as most experiments of the

same nature tend to be in the .9s. Evaluation: As the hypothesis stated, the greater the degree, the greater the period, this means that the hypothesis and procedure were right and the experiment a success. Although there are methods that could have calculated the period or the degrees better, and possibly prevent the main flaw already mentioned, the materials and procedure during the experiment proved effective and gave accurate results that also supported the hypothesis. Finally, a good addition to the experiment was the calculated distance the between the pendulum when on a degree of inclination and the opposite side which was very accurately calculated through the use of trigonometry. Errors: What probably caused the main error in the 20 degree trial was human mistake, although there was equipment to tell when to stop the timer, it is possible that the exact time was missed by more than acceptable. The other mistake would be the way the protractor was attached to the ruler because, although it permitted easier measures, it was in contact with the base of the string and could have affected the speed of the pendulum or on the other hand the string could have affected the position of the protractor. Suggested Improvement: Although the number of trials was fine, each trial would have been more accurate if the time was averaged from the first 3 consecutive periods instead of just taken from the 3rd consecutive period. The protractor too, could have being positioned in a more secure way, protecting it from being moved and thus from losing accuracy.
Felipe A. Vargas