Motion of a simple pendulum
I created a simple pendulum by hanging a weight from a string.
I varied the length of the string and measured the time
for 10 oscillations of the weight.
2
length(cm) time for 10 swings Period (Period)
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7.3 5.52, 5.40, 5.67
15.5 7.97, 8.00, 7.92
29.8 11.38, 11.30, 11.21
59.0 15.35, 15.55, 15.70
97.0 20.12, 20.03, 19.88
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- Fill in the "period" and "period-squared" columns of the table above,
computing and writing down the value for each of the
measurements. Do not take averages.
- Create one graph for this data.
Make a graph of the period squared versus the length of the string.
- Determine the slope of line connecting these measurements
and the uncertainty in the slope.
- Use the slope (and uncertainty) to compute a value for the
local acceleration due to the gravity (and its uncertainty).
Does your value agree with the standard one?
If you have time ...
- Use your graph to find the length of a pendulum which would
have a period of exactly one second.
Does that length have any significance?