UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE

PHYSE L– PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS LAB

Leader: _____________________________ Date: ___________________

Group Number: _________ Course & Year: ___________

LABORATORY ACTIVITY NO. 7

PERIOD OF A PENDULUM

I. OBJECTIVE:
To determine the factors which affect the period of a pendulum

II. APPARATUS/MATERIALS NEEDED:

1 iron stand with clamp 10-15 pcs. lead washers
string (1.5 m) 1 stop watch
1 meterstick

III. PROCEDURE:

Tie one end of the string to the clamp of the iron stand.

A. EFFECT OF AMPLITUDE (Mass and length are constant). At the opposite end of the
string, tie at least 5 washers. Set the length of the string at about 50 cm. Pull the washers
aside until an arc of about 10 cm is attained. Release the washers allowing them to
swing for 10 complete vibrations. Record the time taken for the 10 vibrations. Make at
least 3 trials with varying amplitudes. Compute for the period T.

B. EFFECT OF LENGTH (Mass and amplitude are constant). With the arc of the swing
constant, allow the washers –attached to varying lengths of string—to swing. Allow the
washers to swing for 10 complete vibrations. Record the time taken for 10 vibrations
and compute for the period T. Make at least 3 trials with varying lengths of strings.

C. EFFECT OF MASS (Length and amplitude are constant). Add washers to the bob of the
pendulum and let the bob swing until it completes 10 vibrations without altering the
length and the amplitude. Record the time for 10 vibrations and compute for the
period T. Make at least 3 trials with varying mass (by adding washers).

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 1

 Record as follows:

A.

LENGTH, cm MASS(# of washers) AMPLITUDE, S TIME for PERIOD, T

TRIAL (constant) (constant) (variable) 10 vibrations sec

1
2
3

B.

LENGTH, cm MASS(# of washers) AMPLITUDE, S TIME for PERIOD, T

TRIAL (variable) (constant) (constant) 10 vibrations sec

1
2
3

C.

LENGTH, cm MASS(# of washers) AMPLITUDE, S TIME for PERIOD, T

TRIAL (constant) (variable) (constant) 10 vibrations sec

1
2
3

D. Make a graph of the variable column as the ordinate for each of the tabulated data
with the period, T as abscissa.

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 2

IV. COMPUTATIONS:

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 3

V. REMARKS AND CONCLUSION:

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 4

VI. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS:

1. Define the following terms:

a. Period of a pendulum
b. Frequency
c. Amplitude

2. You pull a simple pendulum of length 0.240 m to the side through an angle of 3.5° and
release it. (a) How much time does it take the pendulum bob to reach its highest
speed? (b) How much time does it take if the pendulum is released at angle 1.75° of
instead of 3.5°?

VII. ANSWERS to QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS:

PREPARED BY: ENGR. RIZA CARMELA M. PINEDA 5