The dependence of the period on the angular amplitude of a simple pendulum

Abstract

The interesting properties of a pendulum are that the pendulum executes simple harmonic motion, and that the period of each swing is constant, and depends only on the pendulum length. While it is independent of the weight. The major aim of this paper is to ascertain the minimum angular amplitude at which the error in the period will be significant. this work was carried out by setting up a simple pendulum experiment. The pendulum was set swinging with a small. The timing of the oscillation was done as the bob passed through its rest position. The time for 50 oscillations was recorded for different lengths and angular amplitudes. It was observed that the period depends on length and angular amplitude of the pendulum. The variation of the period with the angular amplitude is not a linear relation, but a parabolic curve. At the minimum values of the curves obtained, the angular amplitude can be between 5o to 15o for any choice of length of pendulum Keywords: Pendulum, period, oscillation, dependence, angular amplitude. Nigerian Journal of Physics Vol. 18 (1) 2006: pp. 149-153