SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION : PENDULUM

SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS

A pendulum is any mass which swings back and forth on a rope, string, or chain. Pendulums can
be found in old clocks and other machinery. A playground swing is a pendulum. If you pull the
mass away from its rest position, so that the string is at an angle, and then let go, the mass will
begin to swing back and forth. The length of time it takes the mass to swing all the way over and
back,once is called the period of the pendulum.

In these experiments, the dependent variable will always be the time for one full swing, or the
period. The three independent variables will be the mass, the angle, and the length of string.
The controlled variables will be the attachment point of the string, the string itself, the method
used to time the pendulum, and the variables we are not currently testing. These will remain the
same for each test, so that we know they won't affect the results. In this experiment, the variables
that we will tested is the length of string.

length of string trial 1 trial 2 trial 3 average

20 32.72 32.99 32.89 32.87
30 31.56 31.77 31.66 31.66
40 30.58 30.59 30.84 30.67
45 30.26 30.12 30.41 30.26
50 29.24 28.27 28.84 28.78
55 27.82 27.91 27.86 27.86

UNIQUE FEATURE OF THIS ACTIVITY

1) This data can be manipulated easily. For example, we can just enter the data in the
table the time of one oscillation; the value of the average can be calculated.
2) Data displayed in a systematic manner, so that we save a lot of time in drawing
graph and show relationship between time and the length of string.
3) Spreadsheet is very practical for repetitive calculation. For example, the point of
graph will also automatically change according to the change of the data.
4) So that, we do not waste our time recalculation and re-graphing and can continue
to do more important things like analyzing the data or graph.
 ENGAGE

(A) (B)

What do you think of the picture?

In picture (A), what happen when the pendulum is move?

EMPOWER
Steps:

1) Students are given:

• One retort stand

• One G-clamp
• Two bosses
• Pendulum bob
• 100cm thin flexible string
• Two small blocks of wood
• Meter rule
• Half meter rule
• Stop watch

2) Students are required to plan an experiment to determine the effect of length of

strength on the one oscillation.

3) Students have to construct hypothesis in this experiment.

4) You may give this instruction to construct the activity:

• Decide what angle you will use to set the pendulum swinging. Mark it on the wall
behind the release point.
• Set up the full length of string with one weight on the end.
Length= 20 cm, 30 cm, 40 cm, 45 cm, 50 cm, 55 cm
• Make and record measurements to determine the period of these
oscillation.
• Generate your own table

Questions:

1) Calculate the value of T using this given formula:

T = π2 x 2π y
g T + g
 ENHANCE

From the experiment, can you give the application of the pendulum

Answer:

1) Clocks

The most common application of the pendulum is to use its regular motion to control the
motion of the hands of a clock. This is still seen in the older grandfather clocks. Every
time the pendulum goes back and forth, it moves a gear one notch. Gears are then used to
move the hands of the clock.

2) Foucault Pendulum
Another interesting application is called the Foucault Pendulum. This pendulum will
demonstrate the Earth's rotation.

The Foucault Pendulum is a very large pendulum that is often several stories high. The
reason it is so large is so that it will keep swinging over a longer period of time. Friction
forces often damp a smaller pendulum and cause to finally stop after a relatively short
time.
The picture below shows the size of the pendulum and the scale at the bottom to indicate
the positions at different times of the day.

To explain how the Foucault Pendulum works, consider putting a pendulum exactly at the
North Pole or South Pole. While the Earth rotated on its axis, the pendulum would
continue to swing in the same direction in space. It would appear as if the pendulum was
slowly changing directions, but in reality it is the Earth that is revolving underneath the
pendulum.

This same phenomenon will happen at locations other than the poles, except that the
reason is not as obvious.