Investigation of the relationship between period and length for a simple pendulum and hence Calculation of g*

Apparatus

Pendulum bob, split cork, string and timer.

Procedure

• Place the thread of the pendulum between two halves of a cork or between two coins and clamp to a stand.

• Set the length of the thread at one metre from the bottom of the cork or coins to the centre of the bob.

• Divide this time t by thirty to get the periodic time T.

• Repeat for different lengths of the pendulum.

• Draw a graph of T² against length l and use the slope to calculate a value for g.

---

Investigation of the relationship between period and length for a simple pendulum and hence Calculation of g*

Physics Experiments

Results

l/m	t/s	T/s	T²/s²
1.00
0.9
0.8

$T^2 = 4π^2 \frac{l}{g}$

$⇒ \frac{T^2}{l} = \frac{4π^2}{g} = slope$

$⇒ g = \frac{4π^2}{(slope)}$