ADDIS ABABA SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

College of Natural and Social Sciences

Department of Physics and Statistics

General Physics Lab Report

Experiment № 2

Group 5
Members ID №
1. Yoseph Bekalo ---------------------------------------- ETS1591/17
2. Yordanos Tadesse ------------------------------------- ETS1585/17
3. Yoseph Abdulkerim ----------------------------------- ETS1599/17
4. Yordanos Kassahun ----------------------------------- ETS1584/17
5. Yordanos Yohannes ----------------------------------- ETS1586/17
6. Yosef Getu ------------------------------------------- ETS1596/17
7. Yosef Gerawork ------------------------------------- ETS1595/17

Submitted on: Thursday, December 19, 2024

 Table of Contents

Content Page №

Title .............................................................................................................................. 1

Objective ...................................................................................................................... 1

Apparatus ..................................................................................................................... 1

Theory .......................................................................................................................... 1

Procedure ..................................................................................................................... 3

Data Recording ............................................................................................................ 3

Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 4

Questions and Discussions ........................................................................................... 5

Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 6

References .................................................................................................................... 7
Title: The Simple Pendulum

Objective
• To determine the effects or contribution of the length of the string and mass of the
pendulum bob on the period for the simple pendulum and find out a mathematical
relationship between the length and period.
• To determine the value of the acceleration due to gravity 𝑔 at Addis Ababa

Apparatus

• A string used as a rigid rod • Table clamp

• Meter tape • A rod on which the mass is fixed
• A pendulum bob • Stopwatch

Theory
The simple pendulum consists of a small bob (in theory a particle) of mass 𝑚 suspended by a
light inextensible thread of length 𝑙 from some point about which it is allowed to swing back and
forth.

The forces on the bob are the tension in the thread 𝐹𝑇 and the weight 𝑚𝑔 of the bob acting
vertically downwards. Resolving 𝑚𝑔 radially and tangentially at the bob, we see that the
tangential component is the unbalanced restoring force acting towards the equilibrium position.

1
Consider the torque on the pendulum. The force providing the restoring torque is the component
of the weight of the pendulum bob that acts along the arc length. The torque is the length of the
string L times the component of the net force that is perpendicular to the radius of the arc. The
minus sign indicates the torque acts in the opposite direction of the angular displacement:

𝜏 = −𝐿(𝑚𝑔𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃);

𝐼𝛼 = −𝐿(𝑚𝑔𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃);

𝑑2𝜃
𝐼 2 = −𝐿(𝑚𝑔𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃);
𝑑𝑡

𝑑2𝜃
𝑚𝐿2 = −𝐿(𝑚𝑔𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃);
𝑑𝑡 2

𝑑2𝜃 𝑔
2
= − sin 𝜃
𝑑𝑡 𝐿

The solution to this differential equation involves advanced calculus, and is beyond the scope of
this text. But note that for small angles (less than 15°), sin 𝜃 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝜃 differ by less than 1%, so we
can use the small angle approximation sin 𝜃 ≈ 𝜃. The angle 𝜃 describes the position of the
pendulum. Using the small angle approximation gives an approximate solution for small angles,

𝑑2𝜃 𝑔
2
= − sin 𝜃 ;
𝑑𝑡 𝐿

𝑑2𝜃
= −𝜔2 𝜃;
𝑑𝑡 2
𝑔
− sin 𝜃 = −𝜔2 𝜃;
𝐿

𝑔
𝜔=√ ;
𝐿

2𝜋
𝑇= ;
𝜔

2
 𝐿
𝑇 = 2𝜋√
𝑔

The time period is therefore independent of the amplitude of the oscillation, and at a given
place on the Earth’s surface where 𝑔 is constant, it depends only on the length 𝑙 of the
pendulum.

Procedure
1. The pendulum was set up in such a way that the length could be varied.
2. The bob was displaced in such a way that the string would make an angle between 0° and
10° with the vertical line through the equilibrium point for each length of the string.
3. As soon as it was let go, the stopwatch was started and the time elapsed for 10 complete
oscillations was recorded.
4. Steps 2 and 3 were repeated twice more without changing the length in order to get three
trials.
5. Then, the length of the string was decreased by an interval of 10 cm and steps 2 and 3
were repeated for each length.
6. The data points were recorded with three trials each.

Data Recording
The table below shows the raw data collected which includes the decrease in the length of the
string and the corresponding time trial for 10 oscillations.
Length 𝑙 of the Time (𝑠) Average Time for 10
string (m) Oscillations (𝑠)
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
0.70 16.75 16.84 16.93 16.84
0.60 15.51 15.16 15.23 15.30
0.50 14.20 14.20 14.03 14.14
0.40 12.63 12.44 12.54 12.54

3
Data Analysis
The table below shows the value of the calculated data that includes the period of oscillation 𝑇,
which further gives us the acceleration due to gravity 𝑔.
Length Average Time for Period Square of the Acceleration Due to Percentage
Period 𝑇2 (𝑠2) Error
𝑙 (𝑚) 10 Oscillations (𝑠) 𝑇 (𝑠)
Gravity 𝑔 (𝑚⁄𝑠2)
0.70 16.84 1.684 2.836 9.66 0.66%
0.60 15.30 1.530 2.340 10.12 -3.16%
0.50 14.14 1.414 2.000 9.87 -0.61%
0.40 12.54 1.254 1.570 10.05 -2.42%

In Data Recording and Data Analysis, the following formulae were used:

𝑇(𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 1)+𝑇 (𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 2)+𝑇(𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 3)

1. 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 =
3
𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
2. 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝑇) =
3

4𝜋2 𝐿
3. 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑔) =
𝑇2

𝑔1 +𝑔2 +𝑔3 +𝑔4

4. 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑔𝑎𝑣) = = 9.94𝑚/𝑠 2
4

(𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒)

5. 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100%
(𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒)

4
Questions and Discussions
5. Investigate how the period of the pendulum varies for different lengths of the pendulum.

Solution: From the formula 𝑇 = 2𝜋√𝑔𝐿 , we can see that the two variables have a direct

square root relationship. For instance, in order to get double the period, we’d have to
quadruple the length of the pendulum.

6. Plot the graph of 𝑇2 against 𝑙 and find the value of the acceleration due to gravity 𝑔 from

4𝜋2
the gradient (slope) of the graph – this will be equal to .
𝑔

The graph of 𝑇2 against L

3

2.5

2
𝑇2

1.5

0.5

0
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

We can see that it is quite nearly a straight line. Hence, we can calculate its slope 𝑚.
Taking the first and last points on the line, i.e., (0.40, 1.570) and (0.70, 2.836):

∆𝑦 2.836 − 1.570
𝑚= = = 4.22;
∆𝑥 0.70 − 0.40
4𝜋 2 4𝜋 2
𝑔= = = 9.35𝑚/𝑠 2
𝑚 4.22

5
 7. Discuss what the possible source of errors could be in each method for the determination
of g.
Solution: 1- inaccurate measurement of length
2- flexibility of the string
3- precision of the measuring tool
4- human reaction time
5- air resistance

8. How much is your measurement of 𝑔 approximate to the theoretical value?

0.71+(−3.16)+(−0.61)+(−2.42)
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = = −1.37%
4

This shows that the measured value is 1.37% greater than the theoretical value.

Conclusion
The purpose of this experiment was twofold. One was to determine the mathematical link
between a pendulum bob's length (𝑙) and oscillation period (𝑇). The other was to calculate the
gravitational acceleration 𝑔 using the previously mentioned mathematical connection.
We could infer from our firsthand observations of reality that a pendulum's swing time increases
with the length of its string. However, this experiment reveals the precise link between these two
and offers a convincing argument for their direct proportionality.
Additionally, the experiment offers a different method of determining the acceleration caused by
gravity. Using a body that was falling freely, the other and most obvious technique was to
measure it and note how long it takes to travel down a certain height and reach the ground. But
this experiment measures it in a bit more arithmetically sophisticated but much more efficient
and easier way, with less air resistance.

6
References
How to Make A Line Graph in Word. (n.d.). Wondershare EdrawMax. Retrieved from

https://www.edrawmax.com/

Pendulums. (2020). openstax CNX. Retrieved from https://cnx.org/