Pendulum Project
Data Chart: Experimental and Theoretical Period
Mass Constant
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Length of String use actual length |
Period/Time1 |
Period/Time2 |
Period/Time3 |
Average Experimental Period/time |
Theoretical Period
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Very Important Notes To Remember Throughout the Project
Arc of the swing must be constant throughout the experiment!
*Length of string – when you tie the string to the ring stand it probably will not be exactly 10 cm (20 cm, etc.) so you must measure and record the actual length in your table.
Time – You will record the time it took for 10 full swings and then divide by 10 to find the time for one swing (period); this is what you will record in your final data chart. Do not round.
Percent Error
****Remember Order of Operations when using the above formula!!!
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Actual Length of String* |
Experimental Average Period |
Theoretical Period |
Percent Error to 2 decimal places |
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Graphs: Make sure you label your x and y axis and have a title for each graph.
1.) Make a scatterplot of your Experimental Data. Make sure your x (Length of String) and y (Period) axis go up by a constant amount or the graph will not turn out correctly.
2.) Make a Graph with your Average Experimental Period and your Theoretical Period. Make the x and y axis the same as the scatterplot.
3.) Make a graph with Length of String as the independent variable and Percent Error as the Dependent Variable.
Data Chart: Experimental and Theoretical Period
String Length Constant
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Number of Masses |
Period/Time1 |
Period/Time2 |
Period/Time3 |
Average Period |
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Conclusion:
- How did the length of the pendulum affect the period? What can you conclude about the relationship between the length of a pendulum and its period?
- Did your periods vary over the three times you did it for each string length? In other words, how accurate was your group?
- How did your Experiment and Theoretical Periods compare?
- Analyze your percent error results. Was percent error affected by the string length? Look at your graph to support your answer.
- What was the independent variable and what was the dependent variable for the two different experiments?
- Why did we keep the mass constant and change the length? Why didn’t we do both at the same time?
- How do you think Galileo Galilei came up with the formula to determine the period of a pendulum?
- What can you conclude about the effect of mass on the period of a pendulum?
- What difficulties did your team have in this project? What went well for your team? Is there anything you would have done differently?
- Based on your observations, what string length would produce a period of exactly one second? Theoretically what should it be?