Simple Pendulum Essay

Simple Pendulum

Introduction

The purpose of this lab was to determine the motion and energy associated with a pendulum. Not only did we physically observe the differing motions of the pendulum, we also determined which types of energy were associated with the pendulum at a specific moment in time (potential, gravitational, and kinetic). The pendulum contained potential energy as soon as you let go of it and as soon as it reached maximum deflection. The pendulum contained gravitational energy when it was displaced from its resting point. The pendulum contained kinetic energy while it was moving from side to side. The kinetic energy reached its maximum value when the pendulum reached its resting point before swinging back to the other extreme. At this point, the pendulum was at its fastest. We also determined the effects of varying masses, amplitude, and length on the motion of the pendulum.

Procedure

First, we constructed a pendulum and observed its motion. We observed that it went back and forth in a straight line followed by a circular movement until it returned to rest. We then determined how to measure the motion of the pendulum in numerical terms. We predicted that we could measure this motion by counting how often the pendulum swings back and forth within a given time, how far the pendulum moves within a given time, and how long it takes for the pendulum to stop moving. Next, we determined the forces acting upon the pendulum when it is in equilibrium and when it is deflected. When at equilibrium, gravity is acting downward on the pendulum and the force of the string is acting upward on the pendulum. When deflected, gravity is working downward, the string is working upward, the hand holding it was exerting a force away fr...

... middle of paper ...

...ill not have a significant effect on the pendulum’s motion. We also found that varying the amplitude will not have a significant effect on the motion of the pendulum. We found this to be interesting since it does seem to go against common sense thought processes. The only significant effect that we found was that of varying length on the pendulum’s motion. We found that as the length increases, the period also increases. This information can be used in real life situations. One specific example is that of a Grandfather Clock. Grandfather clocks do have to be manually adjusted every now and then by humans. Using the information previously found in this experiment, we can conclude that if a grandfather clock was running too fast, we would lengthen it to correct the time. On the other hand, if the clock was running slow, we would shorten the length to correct the time.