A change of mass would not effect a pendulum. It is independent of the mass of the bob. #T = 2*pi*sqrt(l/g)# 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. The only things that affect the period of a simple pendulum are its length and the acceleration due to gravity. The mass of a pendulum’s bob does not affect the period. Favourite answer. In a clock's pendulum the bob is often a hanging chunk of lead. Increasing the mass of the bob doesn't affect either the period or the frequency at all. The mass that is hanged from the pendulum is constant and 250g for each trial. The really interesting physics behind this formula for the period of a pendulum is that the mass doesn't matter! (It is due to the effect of gravity.) 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. 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, ________________________________________________________________________. Increase the weight on the pendulum and gravity just pulls harder, evening out the extra weight. Help is much appreciated. In practice it does due to air resistance. What this does is What is the physics behind mass not affecting the period? The speed of the bob is 150 cm/s as it passes through its lowest... What are the equations for frequency and period? Instead, the period is directly affected by the length of the string from which the mass... See full answer below. That assumption needs to be valid in the construction of the pendulum. The acceleration due to gravity does not depend upon the mass of the bob. The starting angle does not affect the period of a pendulum. Why does the angle you release the pendulum, not affect the period of the pendulum? As the amount of energy is constant in the system the potential energy would equal kinetic energy (mh=.5mv^2). Click and conduct the following investigation. The answer is “NO”. The solution may be closer than you know. 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. 1. 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. As the force increases so does the acceleration and along with gravity are the factors that affect the pendulum swing. assumes that all the mass is concentrated a distance #l# from the pivot.   Terms. 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. As School for Champions points out, the force of gravity on any falling object is … $\begingroup$ @NoamChai: It becomes more clear if we add a single word to the final sentence. 56014 views The mass of a pendulum does not affect the period. by Ron Kurtus (revised 18 December 2016) A pendulum consists of a weight suspended on a rod, string or wire. What are the factors and parameters of pendulum motion? Does the mass of a pendulum affect its period? There are some other factors that affect the period of simple pendulum. Remember the period of a pendulum is the time it takes, the pendulum to make one full back-and-forth swing. The mass of a pendulum doesn't affect the period because the force that acts on the pendulum is gravity. The period is completely independent of other factors, such as mass. Simple pendulum review Overview of key terms, equations, and skills for simple pendulums, including how to analyze the forces on the mass. Google Classroom Facebook Twitter 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. (s) affect the period, you are also going to determine how they affect the period. The starting angle [math]\theta[/math] of a pendulum does not affect its period for [math]\theta<<1[/math]. So the period would be much shorter. More From Reference. Course Hero, Inc. Write a hypothesis: As the length of the pendulum _____ the number of swings_____. When this period formula is derived from the pendulum equation of motion, the dependence of the mass of the bob cancels out. Use the photogate timer and record the period it takes for each length. A simple pendulum is modeled by physicists as a point mass suspended from a rod or string, which has negligible mass. Answer Save. 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. (It is due to the effect of gravity.) A pendulum's length affects its period and frequency much more than other variables do. Pendulum Exhibits Periodic Motion. Why does a shorter pendulum have a smaller period than a longer pendulum? around the world. Get an answer to your question “Why does mass not affect the period of a pendulum? 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. Newton's second law can be used to explain this phenomenon. The effect of gravity on the bob results in the periodic motion, and the length of the wire determines the frequency of its swing. 3. Why does mass of the bob not affect the period of the pendulum? This is the approximation I indicated in the "Answer" above. This preview shows page 3 - 5 out of 5 pages. Course Hero is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university. The rest of the pendulum is as light as possible so that the wire the bob hangs from can be ignored. As mass increases, so does the force on the pendulum, but acceleration remains the same. When you write in your comment about "mass is removed", are you referring to removing the bob entirely? If you do that (or substitute a much lighter bob), you would have to consider that #l# has decreased significantly. 1. 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. This is because of the conservation of energy. What is the period of the Great Clock's, Big Ben, pendulum? 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. Why does mass not affect the period of a pendulum? 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. A pendulum is 90 cm long. Mass of the pendulum does not have any effect on the number (or amount) of times it will oscillate in a given time duration. The formula Will it make the clock's time fast or slow? When the weight or bob is moved and let go, the pendulum will swing back and forth in a regular periodic motion.. Relevance. 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). 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. Therefore, the mass does not affect the period of the pendulum. Whatever be the mass of bob, it is pulled down with the same acceleration due to gravity. As with simple harmonic oscillators, the period T for a pendulum is nearly independent of amplitude, especially if … Thank you. 1 1 Phat Tran 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. 1 Answer. As mass increases, so does the force on the pendulum, but acceleration remains the same. Why is pendulum period independent of mass? The period for a simple pendulum does not depend on the mass or the initial anglular displacement, but depends only on the length L of the string and the value of the gravitational field strength g, according to The mpeg movie at left (39.5 kB) shows two pendula, with different lengths. For example, starting the bob higher only changes the frequency a little bit. Copyright © 2021. (It is due to the effect of gravity.) 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. 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 acceleration remains the same, so does the time over which the acceleration occurs. At higher angles however, the period [math]T[/math] increases with increasing [math]\theta[/math]. Because the mass of any object does not affect its gravitational acceleration, and gravitational acceleration is what determines the period of a pendulum. PART 2 Length and Number of Swings: How does the length affect the number of swings? The mass of a pendulum's bob does not affect the period. … As mass increases, so does the force on the pendulum, but acceleration remains the same. ...” in Physics if there is no answer or all answers are wrong, use a search bar and try … In F = m a, force is directly proportional to mass. 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 … If the amplitude is limited to small swings, the period T of a simple pendulum, the time taken for a complete cycle, is: Therefore, the mass does not affect the period of the pendulum. For this activity the mass should stay the same but the length will change each time. Because acceleration remains the same, so does the time over which the acceleration occurs. Within certain limits, mass does not affect a pendulum's period. 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). However, in theory it does not. The easiest way to explain is by the kinetic and potential energy.   Privacy Because acceleration remains the same, so does the time over which the acceleration occurs. Within certain limits, mass does not affect a pendulum's period. 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