PHYSICS LAB
Name: Anaya Jagnandan
Date: 24th November 2025
Title: Simple Pendulum
Aim: To find the relationship between the length and the period of a simple pendulum
Materials/Apparatus:
Retort stand
String
Meter rule
Mass (to be used as the pendulum bob)
Stopwatch
Diagram:
Variables
Independent Variable: Length of string
Dependent Variable: Period (time for one oscillation)
Control variables: Mass of bob, angle of release (amplitude)
Method:
1) The mass was attached to the end of the string.
2) The string was secured to the retort stand and measured 45cm (0.45m) in length.
3) Mass was pulled and positioned at an angle of about 45° relative to the vertical.
4) As the mass was released, the stopwatch was started simultaneously.
5) The time taken for the pendulum to complete 10 oscillations was recorded
6) Steps 3 to 5 were repeated 3 times in total.
7) Steps 2 to 6 were repeated for lengths 45 cm to 20 cm. The length of the string was
reduced by 5cm between repetitions.
Results:
Length/ cm Time taken to complete ten (10) oscillations/s
Attempt 1 Attempt 2 Attempt 3 Average
20 9.18 9.31 10.10 9.53
25 10.28 10.35 11.05 10.56
30 11.18 11.50 11.34 11.34
35 12.85 12.80 12.41 12.69
40 13.51 13.31 13.38 13.40
45 14.23 14.40 14.26 14.30
Data Analysis:
Lengths were converted to standard units(meters). The period (T) was calculated for each
length using the average time taken to complete ten(10) oscillations. The square of the period
for each length was calculated in square seconds.
Length in meters(m) Period T (s) Period squared T²(s²)
0.200 0.935 0.870
0.250 1.056 1.120
0.300 1.134 1.290
0.350 1.269 1.610
0.400 1.340 1.800
0.450 1.430 2.040
Discussion:
This experiment aimed to determine the relationship between the length of a simple
pendulum and its period. The results showed a clear pattern: as the length of the pendulum
increased, the time taken for one oscillation (period) also increased. This trend is consistent
with the theoretical formula T =2 π
√ l
g
which predicts that the period is directly
proportional to the square root of the length.
The calculated values of T 2 also increased steadily as the length increased, supporting the
expected linear relationship between T 2 and l . This means that the experiment successfully
demonstrated the theoretical relationship. Although the angle used (45°) was larger than the
recommended small angle (<10°), the pattern still followed the expected trend, though with
slightly larger times in some attempts.
Sources of error: Human error- inaccuracy due to reaction time in manually starting and
stopping the stopwatch
Limitation: A wire was used instead of a string. A wire is not perfectly flexible like a string.
It has some rigidity, so the bob did not swing freely, resulting in sideways or
irregular oscillations.
Precaution: The time for 10 oscillations was used to reduce reaction time error.
Repeating each trial three times and using average values also improved reliability. Overall,
the data were consistent and showed the expected physical relationship, even though some
conditions were not ideal.
Conclusion
The experiment successfully showed that the period of a simple pendulum increases as its
length increases. The results followed the theoretical relationship T 2 ∝ l , demonstrating that
longer pendulums take more time to complete one oscillation than shorter ones.
References:
BYJUS. (2023). Simple Pendulum - Time Period, Derivation, and Physical Pendulum.
BYJUS. [Link]
Graber-Mitchell, N. (2018). Finding the period of a simple pendulum.
[Link]
Physics LibreTexts. (2016, October 18). Pendulums. Physics LibreTexts. [Link]