Stefano Senno

Block 4
24-09-2012
The length of the cord
affects the time to complete an oscillation
Objective:
See how the length of the cord that supports the pendulum affects the time it takes to
complete an oscillation. With this experiment we want to learn more about the error
and the formulas using the info of the oscillations.
Hypothesis:
If the length of the cord increases, then the time it takes the pendulum to complete an
oscillation will also increase.
Research:
The oscillation of a pendulum is used to measure acceleration due to its gravity. The
time it takes for a simple pendulum to complete one oscillation just depends on the
length of the rope. The reason the pendulum it oscillates is because the force of
gravity pulls down the pendulum. For our experiment we must use the equation for
theoretical value: T (sec) = 2pi L/g. This experiment involves gravity because of that
we use it in the formula. We can found errors in all physical measurements. Because of
directions the pendulum will go from the initial point to one direction and return in the
opposite direction. During an experiment there can compare only the relative error,
which is the actual measured quantity, with the absolute error, the one that shows the
actual size of error in units. There are four types of errors in physics for measurements:
Instrumental errors, systematic errors, personal errors and random errors. The percent
error is the difference between the expected results and the results we observe during
the experiment. For this experiment we used the variation of gravitational acceleration.
The length of the cord or the string you use for the experiment is the one that controls
the direction of the pendulum because it is the responsible of the angles that the
pendulum uses for the movements.
Experimental Design:
Dependent Independent Control Constant
Time in seconds Length of the cord Pendulum
Theoretical value for
each length
Height of ring stand
12 oscillations

Materials:
Cord
Chronometer
Pendulum
Stand
Ruler
Ring Stand

Procedure:
1. Tie the rope to the pendulum.
2. Attach the cord and the pendulum to the ring stand.
3. Measure the length of the cord from the start of the ring stand until the edge of
the pendulum before tying it.
4. After you have measured it bring the pendulum up.
5. Start the chronometer and let go the pendulum, stop it and record with two
decimals.
6. Count the number of oscillations until you count 12 of them.
7. Repeat until you complete the 6 trials per length.
8. Record your data for each of the measurements of the string.


Results:

Pendulum
Lenght(m)
Number of
oscillations
T1(s) T2(s) T3(s) T4(s) T5(s) T6(s) Average
(s)
T
(period)
1 oscill
0.10 12 8.78 8.65 7.97 9.02 8.31 8.60 8.55 0.71
0.20 12 11.06 11.68 11.41 11.50 11.47 11.06 11.36 0.94
0.30 12 14.25 15.04 15.03 15.84 15.53 15.81 15.25 1.27


Pendulum
Length (m)
Number of
oscillations
Experimental
Value (%)
Theoretical
Value
Percentage
Error (%)
0.10 12 8% 0.63 3.27%
0.20 12 4% 0.90 1.76%
0.30 12 15.45% 1.10 3.08%

Analysis:
With these tables we can see the differences between oscillations depending on the
length of the rope that increases more the time when the length of the cord is higher. In
the second table we can see the variations that the error percentage has depending
also in the length of the cord. The second table explains the relation between the
experimental value, theoretical value and percentage error. For example we can see
that average from the lab at length 0.20m (0.94) is closely to the theoretical value that
is (0.90), with this information we can say that the percent error of this oscillation is
1.76 %.
Conclusion:
The purpose of this experiment was to see how the difference on the length of the rope
affects the time it took for the pendulum to complete an oscillation and to calculate the
error of its results. One of the most relevant facts I founded in this experiment was that
when the shorter the length of the cord of the pendulum is, the pendulum is going to
spend less time in completing an oscillation and vice versa. During the lab I also found
that as the length of the string increased the percentage of error decreased. At the end
of this experiment I can conclude that my hypothesis was supported by the results of
the experiments because with those results we can said that as the length of the string
increases, the time in seconds also increases.
The results we got from the lab can be compared in a certain way with my research. In
all the web pages I did my research I founded that the longer the rope that holds the
pendulum is, then the longer the pendulum will have to travel to complete the
oscillation. It also explains how the error was propagated and how important it is. So
that the results we get can be accurate and precise in some way. During the
experiment we can try to reduce or avoid some errors that could make the lab more
accurate, but its logical that our results are not going to be precise because we are
humans and we can make errors that a human cant capture with his eye.
The most common errors a student can make are for example the height of the
pendulum, sometimes it is not exact or not starting the chronometer at the same time
as the pendulum and also finishing at the same time as the pendulum ends. For the
next time I think it would be better if we use a more accurate ruler or the precise height
from where the pendulum has to be before the throwing. It will be also important to
learn more about the error percentage and the formulas just to understand more what
we are talking about. For the next experiments it would be important for us being more
related with the topic that we are going to see in the lab. For this experiment I can say
that next time students can also manipulate the force it is thrown with.
For the calculations first we wanted to get the central values, first we recorded the data
for each oscillation and then we averaged it to use that information and replace it in the
formulas. To get the time per each oscillation we divided the final result by 12. When
we get the experimental values, we replaced the lengths in the theoretical value
formula so that we can compare and finally get the experimental value percent error.
For all of these processes we needed these formulas: T = 2L/(9.81), T1oscill-
Theoretical value/ theoretical value x 100, Average deviation/average total x 100

What I personally consider was the most difficult part in this experiment was the
precision of the measurements and the data that we took from it. I actually think that
my data was not exact enough. I think if the whole class would have the same data the
conclusions of this experiment could be more accurate than the ones that we are doing
with different information. At the end of this experiment we can said that our thesis was
supported in some way to the results we got on the lab, because we now know that
when the longer the cord is, the time that it will take for an oscillation will also increase.
Bibliography:
Emery, R(2012). Measurement and Errors. Retrieved on September 20, 2012 from:
http://webs.mn.catholic.edu.au/physics/emery/measurement.htm
KU (2005).What is error?. Retrieved on September 21, 2012: http://www.estat.us/id153.html
Slideshare(2012). Physics 1.2b Errors and Uncertainty.Retrieved on September 17, 2012 from:
http://www.slideshare.net/thephysicsteacher/12b-errors-and-uncertainties
Pendulum Oscillation. (n.d.). Welcome . Department of Physics & Engineering Physics . College
of Arts and Science . University of Saskatchewan. Retrieved September 24, 2012, from
http://physics.usask.ca/~hirose/ep225/animation/pendulum/anim-pendulum.htm