AP Physics Simple Harmonic Motion Lab

Part 1
Purpose: The purpose of this part of the lab is to determine the effect of mass, angle, and
length on the period of a pendulum.

Procedure: In a set of trials, I timed multiple oscillations, each time changing either the
mass, angle, or length to see if there was an effect on the period.

Data:
Mass (g) Time (s)

5 1.37

10 1.39

15 1.43

20 1.51

Angle from Time (s)

equilibrium

15 1.29

30 1.31

60 1.36

90 1.44
 Length (cm) Time (s)

20 1.08

30 1.17

40 1.35

50 1.54

Conclusions:
While it appeared that mass had an effect on the period since the larger masses resulted in
a longer period, that is not the case. Because each additional mass added to the length of
the strong, the increased length was the actual cause of the increased period. Mass does not
affect the period.
The angle had a slight effect on the period, as the period increased as the angle did.
Length had the greatest effect on the period, and its graph with the period seems to form a
square-root curve.
Part 2
Purpose: The purpose of this part of the lab was to produce a position-time graph of a
pendulum.

Procedure: To get the most accurate graph, I measured position by having the pendulum
bob draw the graph. To do so, I used a leaking bob that I soaked in colored water so it
would drip the exact path it traveled.

Data:
Note: The colored trail dried and faded out, so I redrew the same graphs with a pen to the
best of my ability.

Conclusions:
The period of a simple pendulum is T = 2π√(L/g) , where L is its length.