The factors which affect the time for one full oscillation of a pendulum.

the factors which affect the time for one full oscillation of a pendulum

An investigation on the factors affecting the period of one complete oscillation of a simple pendulum

In this investigation I aim to discover and investigate the factors which affect the time for one complete oscillation of a simple pendulum. It is important to understand what a pendulum is. A simple pendulum is a weight or mass suspended from a fixed point and allowed to swing freely. An oscillation is one cycle of the pendulums motion e.g. From position a to b and back to a. The period of oscillation is the time required for the pendulum to complete one cycle of its motion. This is determined by measuring the time required for the pendulum to reoccupy a given position.

I am going to do a simple preliminary experiment to investigate which of the factors I test have an effect on the time for one complete oscillation.

Animation of a Foucault pendulum (showing the sens...

English: If the amplitude is large, the period T o...

English: If the amplitude is limited to small swin...

The factors basic variable factors I can test are:

? Length (the distance between the point of suspension and the mass)

? Mass (the weight in g of the item suspended from the fixed point)

? Angle (the angle between the point of equilibrium and the maximum point the pendulum reaches)

*The point of equilibrium is the point at which kinetic energy (KE) is the only force making the mass move and not gravitational potential energy (GPE).

I will test the extremes of these factors as I can assume that if they have any effect on the period of oscillation it will become obvious. To make sure my results are reliable and to allow for any anomalies I will repeat the experiment 4 times for each extreme. I will also keep all the other factors constant so if the...