EDORA, Ma. Alena A. MATIBAG, Neil M.

GILLACO, Von Joshua Duque SACRES, Kobe Brian

WRITE-UP FOR PENDULUM EXPERIMENT

I. Statement of the problem

The problem is focused on finding the best approximation of the value of

acceleration through gravity (g) by performing a pendulum experiment where in each
trial the students will measure the length of the string used and the number of oscillations
of the pendulum in a given time frame.

II. Model w/ description (e.g. what are the assumptions?)

F = gsin

The model was theorized with the assumptions that:

1. The initial angle in which the pendulum was released, for all trials, are
approximately equal.

T = 2gl

III. Independent and dependent variables

The independent variable is the length (l) of the string used and the dependent
variable is the number of oscillations (T) made by the sphere.

IV. Materials
Iron stand
Metal sphere
string
Calibrated hourglass

V. Procedure

1. Secure an iron stand and a metal sphere with holes on opposite sides. Cut a
string and tie it with the metal sphere making sure the string is near the hole as much
as possible.
2. Attach the suspended metal sphere to the iron stand using the string.
3. Using a calibrated hourglass, we counted the number of oscillations of the
metal sphere in a 50s-time frame and recorded it.
EDORA, Ma. Alena A. MATIBAG, Neil M.
GILLACO, Von Joshua Duque SACRES, Kobe Brian

a. Sketch of setup

b. Instrumentation

We measured the pendulum length vertically with a ruler and the diameter of the
sphere using a Vernier caliper w/ uncertainties. Then we added the length of the
string and the diameter of the sphere together with the uncertainties of the instrument
used.
In measuring the period, we set a 50s-time frame and counted the number of
oscillations of the sphere within the time frame. We did a total of seven trials, each
trial with varying lengths of string, to come up with enough number of data points for
the graph to be visible.

c. Values used for independent variables

The values we used for the length of the string are 4 cm, 9 cm, 14 cm, 19 cm, 24
cm, 29 cm, and 34 cm where the length differences from each subsequent values is 5
cm. We chose a 5 cm difference so there will be a significant change in the number of
oscillations and at the same time, the length of the string in the 7th trial will be less
than the length of the iron stand.
EDORA, Ma. Alena A. MATIBAG, Neil M.
GILLACO, Von Joshua Duque SACRES, Kobe Brian

VI. Raw data

Length of pendulum Oscillations

Trials
Length of l (cm) Diameter l (cm) T in T
string of sphere 50s-time
(+5cm) frame

1 4 cm 0.1cm 2.49 cm 0.01cm 74 0.07s

2 9 cm 0.1cm 2.49 cm 0.01cm 77 0.07s

3 14 cm 0.1cm 2.49 cm 0.01cm 57 0.09s

4 19 cm 0.1cm 2.49 cm 0.01cm 40 0.1s

5 24 cm 0.1cm 2.49 cm 0.01cm 44 0.1s

6 29 cm 0.1cm 2.49 cm 0.01cm 37 0.1s

7 34 cm 0.1cm 2.49 cm 0.01cm 33 0.2s

VII. Detailed calculations of the input data for graphs

Trial 1 D=2.49 0.01 cm

L= 4 0.1 cm L+D= 16.49 0.1 cm
D=2.49 0.01 cm 57T=50 5 s
L+D= 6.49 0.1 cm T=0.9 0.09 s
74T=50 5 s
T=0.7 0.07 s Trial 4
L= 19 0.1 cm
Trial 2 D=2.49 0.01 cm
L= 9 0.1 cm L+D= 21.49 0.1 cm
D=2.49 0.01 cm 40T=50 5 s
L+D= 11.49 0.1 cm T=1.3 0.1 s
77T=50 5 s
T=0.7 0.07 s Trial 5
L= 24 0.1 cm
Trial 3 D=2.49 0.01 cm
L= 14 0.1 cm L+D= 26.49 0.1 cm
 EDORA, Ma. Alena A. MATIBAG, Neil M.
GILLACO, Von Joshua Duque SACRES, Kobe Brian

44T=50 5 s T=1.4 0.1 s

T=1.1 0.1 s
Trial 7
Trial 6 L= 34 0.1 cm
L= 29 0.1 cm D=2.49 0.01 cm
D=2.49 0.01 cm L+D= 36.49 0.1 cm
L+D= 31.49 0.1 cm 33T=50 5 s
37T=50 5 s T=1.5 0.2 s

Slopes of the overlaid lines:

ml1 = 1.3680.748
6.042.55 = 0.178 s/cm =1.78 s/m
1.6720.612
ml2 = 6.042.55 = 0.304 s/cm =3.04 s/m

VIII. Comments on the graph/s

Value of g from the slope:

ml1 ml3 ml2
ml3 = 2g = 2.01 s/m
1.78 s/m ml3 3.04 s/m

IX. Summary of results

The results of our experiment show that the value of g can be taken by calculating the
slope of a T vs l graph and according to our graph, the value of g is less than 3.04 and greater
than 1.78 which are slopes of the maximum and minimum overlaid lines respectively.