Within certain limits, mass does not affect a pendulum's period. More From Reference. Therefore, the mass does not affect the period of the pendulum. (It is due to the effect of gravity.) Notice in the formula that the mass of a simple pendulum's bob does not affect the pendulum's period; it will however affect the tension in the pendulum's string. As the force increases so does the acceleration and along with gravity are the factors that affect the pendulum swing. Favourite answer. by Ron Kurtus (revised 18 December 2016) A pendulum consists of a weight suspended on a rod, string or wire. … As mass increases, so does the force on the pendulum, but acceleration remains the same. Thank you. Regardless of the weight of the pendulum bob, otherwise known as the weight at the end of the string, the deciding factor of the period of the swing is length, as it is the only variable in the stated equation. Why does a shorter pendulum have a smaller period than a longer pendulum? #T = 2*pi*sqrt(l/g)# Because acceleration remains the same, so does the time over which the acceleration occurs. Why does the angle you release the pendulum, not affect the period of the pendulum? The three components of a pendulum which you will be studying are: 1) The mass at the end of the string (called the “bob”) – measured in grams. The really interesting physics behind this formula for the period of a pendulum is that the mass doesn't matter! Reason: The time period of a pendulum doesn’t depend upon the mass. Potential energy is mass * height and kinetic energy is 1/2*mass*velocity squared. It is independent of the mass of the bob. At higher angles however, the period $T$ increases with increasing $\theta$. A simple pendulum is modeled by physicists as a point mass suspended from a rod or string, which has negligible mass. Instead, the period is directly affected by the length of the string from which the mass... See full answer below. Newton's second law can be used to explain this phenomenon. Click reset, Next, use the timer (by clicking other tools) and observe the, number of swings the pendulum makes each time you change, Each time you adjust the length, count the number of full swings, Make sure that the pendulum is released at the same position, Write a conclusion on how the length of the pendulum affects the, ________________________________________________________________________. As with simple harmonic oscillators, the period T for a pendulum is nearly independent of amplitude, especially if …   Privacy The formula 1 1 Phat Tran I know from the formula T = 2pi square root (l/g) it doesn't but can somebody give me an qualitative explanation that involves not only the formula but words as well. Does the mass of a pendulum affect its period? ...” in Physics if there is no answer or all answers are wrong, use a search bar and try … As School for Champions points out, the force of gravity on any falling object is … For example, starting the bob higher only changes the frequency a little bit. 1. In practice it does due to air resistance. So the period would be much shorter. In a simple pendulum, with its entire mass concentrated at the end of a string, the period depends on the distance of the mass from the pivot point. Increase the weight on the pendulum and gravity just pulls harder, evening out the extra weight. When the weight or bob is moved and let go, the pendulum will swing back and forth in a regular periodic motion.. if you drop a sponge ball or you jump yourself, you both will cover height h in the same time (of course neglecting air resistance). Just like the time taken for a object to fall through a height of h, depends on the gravitational acceleration and not the mass, i.e. Pendulum Exhibits Periodic Motion. 3. Mass of the pendulum does not have any effect on the number (or amount) of times it will oscillate in a given time duration. Write a hypothesis: As the length of the pendulum _____ the number of swings_____. 2. As the amount of energy is constant in the system the potential energy would equal kinetic energy (mh=.5mv^2). Similarly, the time period of a pendulum doesn't depend upon the mass, or rather the inertia of the pendulum, but only on the angular acceleration due … Course Hero is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university. Will it make the clock's time fast or slow? This preview shows page 3 - 5 out of 5 pages. If you do that (or substitute a much lighter bob), you would have to consider that #l# has decreased significantly. Why does mass not affect the period of a pendulum? If you increase the mass of the bob, that is no problem since it makes the above assumption more valid (mass is even more concentrated at the end). If the amplitude is limited to small swings, the period T of a simple pendulum, the time taken for a complete cycle, is: 56014 views A change of mass would not effect a pendulum. The only things that affect the period of a simple pendulum are its length and the acceleration due to gravity. In a clock's pendulum the bob is often a hanging chunk of lead. The mass of a pendulum’s bob does not affect the period. (It is due to the effect of gravity.) As the force increases so does the acceleration and along with gravity are the factors that affect the pendulum swing. As mass increases, so does the force on the pendulum, but acceleration remains the same. Copyright Â© 2021. Because acceleration remains the same, so does the time over which the acceleration occurs. Help is much appreciated. The period is completely independent of other factors, such as mass. The acceleration due to gravity does not depend upon the mass of the bob. Google Classroom Facebook Twitter However, in theory it does not. Clocks work like a pendulum and in this lab we will determine how a pendulum's period and frequency change when you change the mass of the pendulum. The easiest way to explain is by the kinetic and potential energy. The starting angle $\theta$ of a pendulum does not affect its period for $\theta<<1$. The starting angle does not affect the period of a pendulum. There are some other factors that affect the period of simple pendulum. PART 2 Length and Number of Swings: How does the length affect the number of swings? assumes that all the mass is concentrated a distance #l# from the pivot. For this activity the mass should stay the same but the length will change each time. 1. Thus the cause of motion of pendulum is the force of gravity and to be more exact it is due to the acceleration due to gravity. Click and conduct the following investigation. What this does is What is the physics behind mass not affecting the period? The period of swing of a simple gravity pendulum depends on its length, the local strength of gravity, and to a small extent on the maximum angle that the pendulum swings away from vertical, θ 0, called the amplitude. A pendulum is 90 cm long. That assumption needs to be valid in the construction of the pendulum. Answer Save. The speed of the bob is 150 cm/s as it passes through its lowest... What are the equations for frequency and period? Whatever be the mass of bob, it is pulled down with the same acceleration due to gravity. The rest of the pendulum is as light as possible so that the wire the bob hangs from can be ignored. Remember the period of a pendulum is the time it takes, the pendulum to make one full back-and-forth swing. The mass on a pendulum does not affect the swing because force and mass are proportional and when the mass increases so does the force. Because the mass of any object does not affect its gravitational acceleration, and gravitational acceleration is what determines the period of a pendulum. (s) affect the period, you are also going to determine how they affect the period. around the world. Why is pendulum period independent of mass? Course Hero, Inc. The solution may be closer than you know. Increasing the mass of the bob doesn't affect either the period or the frequency at all. The effect of gravity on the bob results in the periodic motion, and the length of the wire determines the frequency of its swing. What is the period of the Great Clock's, Big Ben, pendulum? Because acceleration remains the same, so does the time over which the acceleration occurs. Simple pendulum review Overview of key terms, equations, and skills for simple pendulums, including how to analyze the forces on the mass. This is because of the conservation of energy. As mass increases, so does the force on the pendulum, but acceleration remains the same. When this period formula is derived from the pendulum equation of motion, the dependence of the mass of the bob cancels out. The mass of a pendulum's bob does not affect the period. A pendulum's length affects its period and frequency much more than other variables do. The answer is “NO”. Within certain limits, mass does not affect a pendulum's period.   Terms. Therefore, the mass does not affect the period of the pendulum. One factor that does not affect swing rate is the weight of the bob. Use the photogate timer and record the period it takes for each length. When you write in your comment about "mass is removed", are you referring to removing the bob entirely? In order to investigate effect of only length of the pendulum on the period of simple pendulum, all the other factors are kept constant throughout the experiment. The mass of a pendulum does not affect the period. Why does mass of the bob not affect the period of the pendulum? 1 Answer. This is the approximation I indicated in the "Answer" above. In F = m a, force is directly proportional to mass. The mass on a pendulum does not affect the swing because force and mass are proportional and when the mass increases so does the force. The reason that mass is irrelevant is because although it requires more energy to move the larger mass, the restoring force of the pendulum is apparent on the tangential axis which uses mgsinθ. In this related lesson , you will find a derivation of this formula for the period of a simple pendulum that will help you understand the restrictions on its use. $\begingroup$ @NoamChai: It becomes more clear if we add a single word to the final sentence. Why do you think mass does not effect the time it takes for the pendulum to, Why do you think mass does not effect the time it takes for the, _______________________________________________________________________, As the length of the pendulum _______________________ the number of, For this activity the mass should stay the same but the length, Use the photogate timer and record the period it takes for each, length. See all questions in Simple Harmonic Motion - Pendulums. The higher velocity allows the higher pendulum to complete its swing in about the same amount of time as the lower, even though it has a longer path.The reason this works is that, for small perturbations the additional velocity is almost exactly the amount needed to account for the additional distance. 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