What is the purpose of the pendulum lab?

The purpose of this lab is to prove mass has no affect on the period of a pendulum only the length of the pendulum affects the period of the pendulum. This lab will also analyze the Mechanical Energy of the pendulum in a Closed System.

What affects the period of a pendulum lab?

The mass and angle are the only factors that affect the period of a pendulum. b. The mass, the angle and the length are the three variables affecting the period. The period is the time it takes to make five complete swings.

How do we set up a simple pendulum in the lab?

Cut a piece of a string or dental floss so that it is about 1 m long. Attach a small object of high density to the end of the string (for example, a metal nut or a car key). Starting at an angle of less than 10º, allow the pendulum to swing and measure the pendulum’s period for 10 oscillations using a stopwatch.

What does pendulum swing mean?

Pendulum Swings Respond to Questions Pendulums are often used as tools for spiritual healing and inner growth. Defined as objects attached at the end of a string or metal chain, when suspended from a stationary position, a pendulum will swing back and forth or in a circular motion.

At what point does a pendulum swing?

Since the mass of the pendulum bob won’t change, the only way for kinetic energy to change is for the speed of the pendulum to change. Kinetic energy is highest when the velocity is the highest. This occurs at the bottom of the pendulum.

What makes a pendulum swing?

This is because the swinging motion of a pendulum is due to the force of gravity generated by the earth’s size. Other factors, including a pendulum’s length, can also affect its motion. A pendulum is an object hung from a fixed point that swings back and forth under the action of gravity.

What is special about a pendulum swing?

A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When released, the restoring force acting on the pendulum’s mass causes it to oscillate about the equilibrium position, swinging back and forth. The time for one complete cycle, a left swing and a right swing, is called the period.

What does it mean when the pendulum swings back and forth?

This back and forth motion is called “oscillation.” Its position is said to oscillate back and forth. The period is the amount of time it takes the bob to make one round trip. If the pendulum bob is pulled back and released, it returns to the hand that released it after a time interval equal to one period.

What is a pendulum swing time?

This is the time it takes the pendulum to complete one full swing – from one side to the other and back again (or, equivalently, from the middle, up to one side, down past the middle and up the other side, and back down to the middle again).

How do you measure the period of a simple pendulum?

Play with one or two pendulums and discover how the period of a simple pendulum depends on the length of the string, the mass of the pendulum bob, the strength of gravity, and the amplitude of the swing. Observe the energy in the system in real-time, and vary the amount of friction. Measure the period using the stopwatch or period timer.

What is a simple pendulum?

The simplest picture of a pendulum is called, appropriately, a simple pendulum. This consists of a very small object hanging from a long essentially-massless string.

Does mass affect the period of oscillation of a simple pendulum?

The goal of this experiment was to determine the effect of mass and length on the period of oscillation of a simple pendulum. Using a photogate to measure the period, we varied the pendulum mass for a fixed length, and varied the pendulum length for a fixed mass.