Lab manual PHY 110 Physics Unit UiTMNS

EXPERIMENT 3 : SIMPLE PENDULUM

OBJECTIVE
1. To determine the acceleration due to gravity, g, by means of a simple pendulum.

APPARATUS
Stop watch, meter rule, pendulum bob, string, retort stand and clamp.

THEORY

Near the surface of planet, all objects experience the same acceleration due to the force of
gravity. The acceleration of the gravity due is to be 9.793394 m/s 2. This constant acceleration
due to gravity appears in the relationship of the period of a simple pendulum to its length.
Therefore, by measuring the period of a simple pendulum as a function of its length, the
acceleration due to gravity may be determined.

A simple pendulul consist of a point mass m suspended from a pivot by a massless,

unstretchable string of length l as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. A Simple pendulum

Some point in the pendulum’s swing, the string makes an angle θ with the vertical, the torque
on the pendulum is given by
...............(1)

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Lab manual PHY 110 Physics Unit UiTMNS

Using Newton’s Second law for rotation, and taking the moment of inertia of the simple
pendulum to be I = ml2, we obtain

.....(2)

Thus the period, T of a simple pendulum is related to its length, L, by the following formula

.....................(3)

Squaring both side of equation (1), we get

....................(4)

PROCEDURE
1. Suspend a small metal annulus by a thin thread from a support which allowed the length
of the thread to be varied.

2. The length, L of the pendulum (measured from the point where the cotton emerged from
the cork to the centre of the bob) is adjusted by drawing the cotton through the cork.

3. The free end is secured on the clamp and the pendulum given a small displacement, L.

4. The time of 20 completed swings (measured against a fixed mark on the bench) is taken,
and the periodic time (T) found (the reading must be rejected if the swings become
elliptical).

5. Record the data in a table, similar to Table 1.

6. Repeat step 1,2, 3 and 4.

7. Calculate T2 for each length and complete the column of Table 1.

8. Plot a graph of T2 versus L on a graph paper.

RESULTS/DATA

Length (m) Time for 20 oscillations (s) Period T T2 (s2)

1 2 3 Average t1 t2 t3 Average (s)

Table 1

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Lab manual PHY 110 Physics Unit UiTMNS

CALCULATIONS

Give all the answers in SI unit.

1. Determine the gradient (slope) of the graph and calculate the value g.

2. Calculate the percent difference between the value of g calculated in part (1) above
(gexperiment) and the standard value of gstandard = 9.81 m/s2 by using the following
equation:

3. Calculate value of uncertainties of g (∆g)

CONCLUSION

Acceleration due to gravity by means of simple pendulum, g = .............±.............ms -2.