Research question:

How does the length of a pendulum affect its time period of oscillations of a constant mass?
The length and period of a pendulum with a constant mass on it are investigated in this subject of
study. To find an answer to this question, a variety of length values were chosen, and the
experimental results have been collected in order to study the tendency and relate it to the current
theory. Finally, an objective conclusion will be reached on the data

Hypothesis:
If the length of pendulum increases, then the period of oscillations increases too. It happens
because of the 2nd simple pendulum law, the time period of a simple pendulum at a particular
place is directly proportional to the square root of its effective length, as trajectory increases and
it takes longer time.

Background information:
Simple pendulum is based on simple harmonic motion (SHM), which is a periodic motion in
which the force exerted on an item is directly proportionate to its displacement and oriented
towards its equilibrium point.
Image 1. Motion of Simple Pendulum (Bhuyan, 2020).

Net force in horizontal direction:

Σ𝐹 = 𝑚 × 𝑎
m - mass of an object [g] , a - acceleration of the object [m s-2]
− 𝑚𝑔𝑠𝑖𝑛θ = 𝑚 × 𝑎
− 𝑔𝑠𝑖𝑛θ = 𝑎
𝑥
𝑠𝑖𝑛θ =
𝑙
x - distance between object and its equilibrium position [m], l - pendulum length [m]
Small angle approximation because angle is not more than 10°:
θ = 10°
𝑥
𝑠𝑖𝑛θ =
𝑙
= θ
𝑎 = − 𝑔 × 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ
𝑎 = −𝑔×θ
𝑔×𝑥
𝑎 = − 𝑙
According to theory of SHM, if ω is the angular speed of the object, x is the displacement from
position of equilibrium:
2
𝑎 = ω × 𝑥,
2 𝑔×𝑥
− ω × 𝑥 = − 𝑙
2 𝑔
ω =
𝑙
2
2 4π
ω = 2
𝑇
2
4π 𝑔
2 = 𝑙
𝑇
2
4π ×𝑙
𝑇 =
𝑔
∆𝑙
∆𝑇 =2π
𝑔

Variables:
Independent variable is the length of a pendulum, because its quantity is altered in order to
examine its impact on the dependent variable. Tiny thread is utilized with a very low mass as a
pendulum. It's measured with a ruler with a 0.005 m uncertainty. There are 5 possible lengths to
choose from in order to reduce the experiment's random error, from 0.800 m to 1.200 m, with
0.100 m disparities between them.
Dependent variable is the period of oscillations, as its value is determined after the independent
variable has been changed. Particular number of oscillations has to be chosen, in this experiment
it is 10, and the time it takes the pendulum to complete them has to be measured to calculate the
period of oscillations. A stopwatch on a cell phone is used to measure time, with an uncertainty
of 0.01 second. For each length value, there are 5 trials to reduce random error. When the length
of the pendulum is raised, the value of the period increases, according to the hypothesis.
Controlled variables:
● Mass of the bob (hanging object) has to be unchanged to observe a tendency and evaluate
a hypothesis. Mass of the bob in this experiment is 100g, which is written on it.
● Angular displacement θ has to be unchanged throughout the trials. Before starting
oscillations, the object is always put at an angle of 10 degrees. 10° angle has been chosen
because the small angle approximation concept (mentioned in background material) only
works with small angles. At the point where the thread is dangling, a protractor is used to
measure it.
 ● Acceleration due to gravity is constant all over the experiment, its value has to match
9.81m s-2 . It's worth mentioning since the formula me of the background information is
used in the final calculation. Because the sum of mass and acceleration is comparable, we
may deduce that one of the forces acting on the pendulum's object, weight, is also
constant.

Table 1. Materials

Equipment/Material Characteristics Amount

Stand PhyWE produced with plastic 1

support base, steel support rod
of 0.600m and boss head.

Thread 2m long 1

Bob (weight) 100g with a relief to hang it 1

Tape measure At least 2.00 meters long, with 1

0.01m divisions

Plasticine 0.005kg 1

Protractor Plastic with 1° division 1

Timer 1

Scissors 1

Method:
Image 2. Experimental set-up
 1. Apparatus listed in the Table 1 should be present.
2. Stand should be placed on the edge of the table and make it possible for pendulum to
move without contacting any surface.
3. Measure a thread of 1.200 m and add 0.100 m, cut it. Thread of 1.200m with 0.100m
should be measured by the measuring tape and cut.
4. One edge of the thread should be tied to a relief (hole) in a bob (weight), and other side
should be rounded once and tied on the steel rode. 1.200m long distance should be made
from rod to the weight
5. Plasticine should be attached to the edge of the rod and protractor should be placed on the
placticine in a perpendicular way to the rod.
6. Holding the weight, top edge of the thread should be pulled to the 10° from the
equilibrium point.
7. Weight should be released and timer should begin.
8. 10 oscillations should be counted - movement from Initial point to final point and from
final point back to the initial point.
9. Timer should be finished on the 10th oscillation
10. Time values should be recorded.
11. Steps 4-10 should be repeated 5 times for each of the values 1.200, 1.100, 1.000, 0.900,
0.800 meters of independent variable
12. After finishing all trials collect apparatus and return to a lab worker. Apparatus should be
collected and returned to the required place.
13. Raw data should be processed.

Safety considerations:
Only and most important safety consideration in this experiment is the risk of pendulum to hit
the people around or apparatus. Weight should be pulled by a human who is standing in front of
the pendulum and pulling aside. Ethical or environmental considerations are not present in this
experiment.

Table 2. Raw data table

Length / m Time / s ± 0.01 s

±0.015 m
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
0.800 17.07 17.22 17.38 17.18 17.13
0.900 18.26 18.02 18.43 18.09 18.21
1.000 19.23 19.31 19.27 19.05 19.33
 1.100 20.33 20.28 20.40 20.25 20.01
1.200 21.87 21.41 21.03 21.37 21.24

Uncertainties:

1. Uncertainty of length
Measuring tape which was used throughout the experiment was unchanged and has a
divisions of 0.01 m, so uncertainty of measurement is at least ±0.005 m , which is the half
of the minimum division of the scale. However, there is placed a metal fixator on the
edge of the measuring tape, and it covers 0.020m, and so it makes possible to be have a
incorrect measurement for ±0.01 m . In total uncertainty of length is ±0.015 m .
2. Uncertainty of time
A timer in a mobile phone was used to keep track of the passage of time. Uncertainty is
the minimum possible value that an electrical gadget can display. Because the timer has
two decimal places, the uncertainty is 0.01 second.

Table 3. Processed data table

Uncertainty
Uncertainty Uncertainty Square root
Length / m Average of Square
in Average Period / s of of Length /
±0.015 m Time / s root of
Time / s Period / s m½
Length / m½

0.800 17.2 0.2 1.72 0.02 0.894 0.008

0.900 18.2 0.2 1.82 0.02 0.949 0.008

1.000 19.2 0.1 1.92 0.01 1.000 0.008

1.100 20.3 0.2 2.03 0.02 1.049 0.007

1.200 21.4 0.4 2.14 0.04 1.095 0.007

Sample calculations:
Length of 0.800 m is used in further calculations.
𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 1 + 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 2 + 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 3 + 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 4 + 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 5
Average Time of length = =
5
17.07 + 17.22 + 17.38 + 17.18 + 17.13
= 17.2 s
5
 𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
Uncertainty in Average Time of length = =
2
17.38 − 17.07
2
= 0.2 s
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 17.2
Period = = = 1.72 s
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 10
𝑈𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 × 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 0.2 × 1.72
Uncertainty in Period = = = 0.02 s
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 17.2
Square root of Length = 𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 0. 800 = 0.894 m½
𝑆𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ × 𝑈𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
Uncertainty in Square root of Length =
2 × 𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
0.894 × 0.015
= 2 × 0.800 = 0.008 m½
Gradient of best fit line = 2.088 s m½
The gradient of the maximum line of best fit = 2.295 s m½
The gradient of the minimum line of best fit = 1.793 s m½
𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 − 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡
The uncertainty in gradient of the line of best fit = 2
=
= 0.251 s m½ ≈ 0.3 s m½
The final gradient of the maximum line of best fit = (2.1 ± 0.3) s m½

Interpretation:
The link between period and square root length is seen in the second graph. As can be seen,
period has a positive linear relationship with square root length, with a constant gradient of best
fit of (2.1 ± 0.3) s m½. In general, the experiment's outcome answers the research question,
indicating that the inquiry was effective. Best fit line does not leave the error bars and lie almost
exactly on a points, without any outlier. Correlation given after analyzing the graph is 0.9983 ,
which is almost perfect, very strong positive correlation. It also represents the direction of the
pattern which is positive. Systematic error of 0.1562 s appeared during the experiment which can
be noticed through the Y-intercept of the best fit line, which makes it not going exactly from the
origin 0, not ideally direct as it expected to be.

Conclusion:
∆𝑙
In conclusion, my data and graph imply that the formula 𝑇 =2π describes the
𝑔
connection between the length of a simple pendulum of constant mass and the period of
oscillation, where 𝑇 is the period, ∆ 𝑙 is the pendulum length, and 𝑔 is the acceleration due to
gravity. Question of the research “How does the length of a pendulum affect its time period of
oscillations of a constant mass?” and the link between the period of oscillations and the length of
a pendulum with constant mass was effectively found in this experiment. Because the period of
oscillations has a positive connection with the square root of length, the conclusion is that as
length grows, the period of oscillations increases. It may be observed when the graph has been
linearized.

Scientific context:

∆𝑙
Its given that 𝑇 =2π
𝑔
, so gradient of the graph:
2π
𝑘 =
𝑔
2π
𝑔 = 𝑘
 2π 2
𝑔 = ( ) 𝑘
2π 2
𝑔 =( ) 2.1

2 −2
𝑔 = (2. 99) = 8. 95 𝑚 𝑠
−2
Accepted value of 𝑔 = 9. 81 𝑚 𝑠
𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
Experimental error = || 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
| × 100% = 8, 8%
|

Strengths and weaknesses:

Measurement tape was not accurate, as its uncertainty which was affected by its construction is
increased.
Timer was operated by a human, so human factor is also included, reaction time can cause delay
which may insert a random error on the results.
Measurements of lengths were also recorded by a human and reading error could appear.
However, mass was truly constant throughout the experiment and did not cause any error
Thread length was measured correctly without loss because of the ties, which reduce any error.

Improvements and extensions:

Another length measuring device may be used, it could be laser measuring device and it would
totally reduce uncertainty. Moreover,laser sensored timer could be used to identify a time of just
only one period. Mentioned improvements could reduce the uncertainties and increase accuracy
of the experiment. Experiment could be extended by researching whether mass of a pendulum
affects the time period or not and what is the relationship.
Reference list

Bhuyan, S. (2020, August 14). Simple pendulum: theory, diagram, and formula. Science Facts.
Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://www.sciencefacts.net/simple-pendulum.html