Name: Jivan Raghoo

Date: 06/12/10

Title: Magnetism

Aim: To investigate how the period, T, of a suspended magnet depends on its separation,
d, from a fixed magnet.

Apparatus and Materials:

 Ruler

 String

 2 retort stands

 2 magnets

 Stopwatch
Name: Jivan Raghoo
Diagram:

Figure 1 showing the setup of apparatus

Theory:

Period is defined as the time taken for one complete oscillation to occur (in this case a
complete to and fro movement of the suspended magnet).

As the separation of the magnets, d, increases it follows from the equation modeling for a
long solenoid (which acts in a manner identical to a bar magnet):

𝜇0 𝑁𝐼
𝐵=
𝑙

In our case we consider the top terms as being constant thus:

Name: Jivan Raghoo
𝑘
𝐵=
𝑙

l increases, B will decrease. B provides the restoring force upon the suspended magnet in
this situation, thus as the distance increases and B decreases it will follow that the
restoring force of the motion decreases and thus the time taken for the period and by
extension for the oscillating magnet to return to an equilibrium position increases.

Method:

1. The apparatus was set up as shown in the diagram.

2. The magnets were adjusted so that they were a distance, d, apart.

3. The suspended magnet was displaced in a direction perpendicular to the vertical

plane with amplitude of 1cm.

4. 2 measurements were taken for the time for 20 oscillations and an average found.

5. The procedure was repeated for 6 different values of d, 3.5cm ≤ d ≤6cm and the
values of T were recorded.

Results

Table 1 showing the time taken for 20 oscillations with the magnets at different distances
apart.

Distance d/m lg d t1 /s t2 /s Average t /s T /s lgT

3.5 x 10-2 -1.46 6.68 6.98 6.83 0.34 -0.47
4.0 x 10-2 -1.40 8.08 8.56 8.32 0.42 -0.38
4.5 x 10-2 -1.35 9.53 9.31 9.42 0.47 -0.33
5.0 x 10-2 -1.30 10.75 10.50 10.63 0.53 -0.28
5.5 x 10-2 -1.26 11.16 11.03 11.10 0.56 -0.25
6.0 x 10-2 -1.22 13.78 13.56 13.67 0.68 -0.17
Name: Jivan Raghoo
Calculations

The given equation to represent the relationship is 𝑇 = 𝑘𝑑 𝑛

Taking logs on both sides gives lg 𝑇 = 𝑙𝑔𝑘 + 𝑛𝑙𝑔𝑑

𝑦2 − 𝑦1
Gradient or n =
𝑥2 −𝑥1
−0.155 − (−0.500)
=
−1.20 − (−1.485)
= 1.21

Using,
lg T = -0.5
lg d = -1.485
n = 1.21

lg 𝑘 = lg 𝑇 − 𝑛𝑙𝑔𝑑
= -0.5 – 1.21(-1.485)
= -0.5 + 1.797
= 1.30

∴ 𝑘 = 20.0

Using,
d = 1.5 cm
k = 20.0
n = 1.21

𝑇 = 𝑘𝑑𝑛
= 20.0(0.015)1.21
= 0.124 𝑠

1
Frequency of the vibrations of the toy can be found using the formula, f = 𝑇
1
f=
0.124
= 8.06 Hz
Name: Jivan Raghoo
Error Calculations

Formula used: 𝑇 = 𝑘𝑑𝑛

Since k and n are constants and ∆𝑑 = 0.05𝑐𝑚, ∆𝑇 = 0.05𝑠 since error associated with T
is solely dependant on error associated with d.

Precautions:

 Avoid parallax error when making measurements involving the ruler.

Sources of Error

 Environmental factors such as wind.

 Reaction time error would have occurred when using the stopwatch.

Conclusion:

It was found that as the distance, d, of the magnets increases, so does the period, T, of the
oscillations.