Investigating the Time Period of a Pendulum

Investigating the Time Period of a Pendulum

The time period of a pendulum is the time taken for the pendulum to

swing from one point to another point, for instance from point A to

point B and back again. This diagram illustrates the experiment.

This experiment calls for me to record this time period, however I

feel it is too short, so I will time 20 time periods for accuracy. I

will then take this number and divide it by 20 to give one accurate

time period.

When doing this experiment I will need to think of two independent

variables:

1. The mass of the pendulum

2. The length of the string that attaches the pendulum to the clamp.

Through my own preliminary experiment I will change the length ten

times, varying from 1m 3cm - 13 cm at approximately 10cm intervals.

For this experiment I will keep the mass the same, the original mass

of the pendulum, 34.87g. For my preliminary experiment when I change

the mass, I will change the mass ten times varying from 74.52 grams to

26.5g. Throughout I will keep the length the same, only changing one

variable at a time. As I mentioned before I will time the length of 20

swings of the pendulum for accuracy.

I chose these figures because I am not experienced in how to control

lengths and weights, which is why some of the lengths are

inconsistent.

Here are the preliminary results

Mass (g) Time Period of twenty swings (s)

1. 74.52 28.53

2. 69.32 28.47

3. 63.31 28.63

4. 57.7 28.53

5. 50.05 28.53

6. 45.01 28.23

7. 43.02 28.13

8. 41.5 28.13

9. 40.02 28.35

10. 36.5 28.43

Length Of String (cm) Time Period of twenty swings (s)

1. 103 39.13

2. 93 37.93

3. 84 36.63

4. 73 33.63

5. 63 30.73

6. 54 28.63

7. 44 26.63

8.