Objective: To determine the value of the acceleration due to gravity with the period of a simple

pendulum.

INTRODUCTION

The reason why the study of simple harmonic motion is important is the very general manner
in which such a motion arises when we want the response of a system to small deviation from
the equilibrium configuration .This happens for a wide variety of systems in Physics.

The period can be defined like the time interval required for exactly one cycle of a repetitive
process or phenomenon of any kind. It is equal to the reciprocal of the process's frequency.
Usual symbol is T. The SI unit for the period is the second.

In this experiment we will study the period of a simple pendulum. The system studied in the
experiment consists of a heavy mass suspended from a light string. A schematic diagram of
the system is given in Figure 1.

Figure 1. A simple pendulum.

The period of a simple pendulum can be modeled by the following equation:

T  2
If you measure the period of a simple pendulum over a long period of time, you will not
observe a perfect fit to this equation; for small oscillations over a short period of time you can
recover the equation. Over long periods of time the pendulum’s oscillations will decrease in
amplitude, and you may observe an exponential decay envelope on top of the sinusoidal
behavior.

Procedure

5. Prepare the system like diagram shown in figure 1.

6. Use the chronometer to measure the time during 10 oscillations. Record your
measurements in data table 1.

7. Calculate the period of the oscillations using this equation T= t / n. For this case n=10.
Record your results in data table 1.

8. Use a meter stick to measure the length of the string. Record your measurements in
data table 1.

9. Calculate the average value for the period and the length. Record these results in data
table 1.

Data table1
Members of the group
Measurement 1 2 3 4 X

Time (seg)

Period (seg)

Length (cm)

4 2
Squaring both sides of the equation for the period gives: g  l.
T2

10. Calculate the value of g using the average value of the length and the period from data
table 1.