DEPARTMENT OF FOUNDATION SCIENCES

PHYSICS

PROGRAMME : PREMEDICAL SCIENCE COURSE

COURSE TITLE : FOUNDATION CHEMISTRY 100

COURSE CODE : CHE 100

DEPARTMENT : FOUNDATION SCIENCES

ASSIGNMENT TITLE : LABORATORY POST REPORT

TO : M. LIKHULE

FROM : GROUP 7

Group members

1. BEATRICE MEDSON :202520020090

2. MAUREEN MATIYA :202520020089

3. GRACIOUS MALONGO :202420020060

4. JOSEPH MUMBA :202520040080

5. BRIGHTON NAMITHAMBO :202520030267

6. GRACIOUS MUHASUWA :202520020093

7. BECKSEN MWAMBE :202520020096

8. LONELY STEVEN :202520030274

[Link] MALANGO :202420020060

This experiment aimed to verify the theoretical relationship between the period and length of a
simple pendulum and to determine the local acceleration due to gravity (g). A pendulum bob was
suspended from a light, inextensible string and displaced through a small angle of approximately
15°, ensuring the validity of the small-angle approximation. The time for ten complete
oscillations was measured for various pendulum lengths (0.100 m, 0.150 m, 0.200 m, 0.300 m,
and 0.400 m). The average period (T) for each length was determined and squared to establish a
linear relationship between T2 and L. From the slope of the line (4.00 s²/m), the acceleration due
2
4π
to gravity was calculated using the formula g= .The experimental result g = 9.87 m/s²,
slope
closely matched the accepted value of 9.81m/s². Small discrepancies were attributed to human
reaction error, friction at the pivot, and air resistance. Overall, the results confirmed that the
period of a simple pendulum depends primarily on its length and the gravitational field strength,
in agreement with classical theory.

Objectives
1. To derive the theoretical expression for the period of a simple pendulum under the small-
angle approximation.
2. To experimentally verify that the square of the period ((T 2)) is directly proportional to the
length ((L)) of the pendulum.
3. To determine the local acceleration due to gravity ((g)) using the slope of the (T 2) versus
(L) graph.
4. To compare the experimental value of (g) with the standard Earth gravitational
acceleration and discuss possible sources of deviation.

Background / Theory

A simple pendulum consists of a small dense bob suspended by a light, inextensible string from a
fixed point. When displaced slightly from equilibrium and released, it oscillates periodically due
to the restoring component of the gravitational force acting toward the equilibrium position. The
motion approximates simple harmonic motion (SHM) when the angular displacement is small
(less than about 15°) (Serway & Vuille, 2019).
 Figure 1: Simple pendulum showing displacement (θ\thetaθ) and restoring
force. From College Physics for AP® Courses 2e (p. 733) by OpenStax, 2022, Rice
University. [Link] CC BY 4.0.

With reference to figure 1; the displacement angle θ, the restoring force is:
F = -mg sin(θ)
Applying the small-angle approximation, sin(θ) ≈ θ = x/L, gives:
F = -(mg/L)x
Using Newton’s second law:
m(d²x/dt²) = -(mg/L)x
This leads to the differential equation for SHM:
d²x/dt² + (g/L)x = 0
where the angular frequency is:
ω = √(g/L)
and the period of one complete oscillation is:
T = 2π√(L/g) (Eq. 1)
Squaring both sides gives:
T² = (4π²/g)L
This shows that T² is directly proportional to L. Therefore, when a graph of T² (s²) versus L (m)
is plotted, the slope is:
slope = 4π²/g
and thus:
g = 4π²/slope (Eq. 2)

Using the measured slope of 4.00 s²/m, the calculated acceleration due to gravity was g = 9.87
m/s2, in close agreement with the accepted theoretical value of 9.81m/s2. This confirms the
accuracy of the pendulum method for determining g, provided the amplitude is small and
damping effects are negligible.
Procedures

The experimental setup consisted of a pendulum made by attaching a small spherical bob to one
end of a string, which was clamped to a stand allowing the pendulum to swing freely. The
length(L) of the pendulum was measured from the point of suspension to the center of the bob
using a meterstick. The string length was made adjustable to allow several different lengths to be
tested.

The pendulum bob was displaced through a small angle, which was less than 150 , to ensure the
small-angle approximation was valid, and then released without applying any push. The
stopwatch was started as the bob passed through its lowest point, and the time for ten complete
oscillations was measured. This was done to minimize human reaction time error. The total time
was divided by ten to obtain the period(T) of one complete oscillation. The measurement was
repeated three times for the same length, and the average period was calculated to improve
accuracy.

The experiment was then repeated for at least five different lengths of the pendulum. For each
length, the corresponding average period was recorded in a data table.

Using the theoretical formula for the period of a simple pendulum,

T=2π
√ l
g
,

2
4π L
g= 2 .
T

2
4π
g= .
slope

TABLE OF RESULTS
 Length(L) Trial Trial 2 Trial 3 Average Period,T=(Averag Experimental
1(Time for Time(s) e Time /10)(s) g(m/s2)
Cm 10
oscillations)
40 11.77 12.18 12.50 12.36 1.24 10.1
30 11.62 11.05 11.35 11.34 1.13 9.3
20 9.29 9.11 9.18 9.19 0.92 9.5
15 8.06 7.99 7.72 7.92 0.79 9.4
10 6.81 6.67 6.46 6.64 0.66 9.7

It was observed that as the length of pendulum increased, the time for 10 oscillations also
increased, indicating that the period of the pendulum is directly related to the square root of its
length. The average times of each length were calculated and then divided by 10 to obtain the
period (T) for one oscillation.

Using the relationship

T=2 π √ L/ g

A graph of T2 (period squared) against L (length) produced a straight line, confirming the
proportionality T2α L. However, the line did not pass exactly through the origin, suggesting the
presence of the small systemic errors, likely from parallax or timing inaccuracies. Despite this,
the line of best fit was drawn to represent the general trend of the results accurately.

Discussion

The experiment was all about determining the acceleration due to gravity (g) using the period of
a simple pendulum.

Some sources of error are:

– Inaccurate measurement of the length of the string, miscounting of cycles, and misreading of
time.
---

Conclusion

The experiment directs us to determine the acceleration due to gravity using the period from the
simple pendulum.

Equation used: T=2 π √ L/ g

– Some errors are inaccurate length measurement of the string, miscounting of the number of
cycles, and misreading of time on the stopwatch.

– We reduce some errors by comparing how close the readings are, and then we find their
average.
References

Serway R. A., & Vuille, C. (2007). Essentials of College Physics. Belmont, CA & Toronto:
Thomson-Brooks / Cole.

Serway, R. A., & Vuille, C. (2019). Physics for Scientists and Engineers (12th ed.).
Cengage Learning.

OpenStax. (2022). College physics for AP® courses 2e. Rice University.
[Link]