SIMPLE

PENDULUM
 A PROJECT REPORT ON

SIMPLE PENDULUM
FOR
AISSCE 2024 EXAMINATION
SUBMITTED BY
HARSHITHA.T
HALL TICKET NUMBER:
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF: MR. CHETHAN
MR. VIJAY
MRS.SHWETHA

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
SRI CHAITANYA TECHNO SCHOOL
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to thank the institution for

giving the opportunity to encase and display
our talent through this project. I would like
to thank my physics teachers MR. CHETHAN
MR. VIJAY AND MRS.SHWETHA
For having the patience to guide me at
every step in the project. I am also grateful
to the CBSE board for giving this
opportunity to do a challenging project in
which we were very engrossed. I would also
like to thank my parents and friends who
helped me in getting the right information
for this project.
 INDEX
INTRODUCTION 1

SIMPLE PENDULUM 2
DEFINITION
MOTION OF PENDULUM 6

TIME PERIOD OF PENDULUM 8

USES OF PENDULUM 11

CONCLUSION 12

BIBLIOGRAPHY 13
 INTRODUCTION
A device where its point mass is attached to a light
inextensible string and suspended from a fixed support
is known as a simple pendulum. The word “pendulum” is
new Latin, from the Latin ‘pendulus’, meaning ‘hanging’.
The mean position or the equilibrium position of a
simple pendulum is the vertical line passing through the
fixed support. The length of the simple pendulum
denoted by L is the vertical distance between the point
of suspension and the centre of mass of the suspended
body (when it is in mean position)
The first scientific investigations of the pendulum around
1602 by Galileo, the regular motion of pendulums was
observed for timekeeping and was the world’s most
exact timekeeping strategy until the 1930s. Pendulums
are also used in scientific instruments such as
accelerometers and seismometers. Historically they
were used as gravimeters to measure the acceleration
of gravity in geo-physical surveys, and even as a
standard of length.
SIMPLE PENDULUM DEFINITION
A simple pendulum is a mechanical
arrangement that demonstrates periodic
motion. The simple pendulum comprises
a small bob of mass ‘m’ suspended by a
thin string secured to a platform at its
upper end of length L.

The simple pendulum is a mechanical

system that sways or moves in an
oscillatory motion. This motion occurs in
a vertical plane and is mainly driven by
gravitational force. Interestingly, the bob
that is suspended at the end of a thread
is very light; somewhat, we can say it is
even massless. The period of a simple
pendulum can be made extended by
increasing the length string while taking
the measurements from the point of
suspension to the middle of the bob.
However, it should be noted that if the
mass of the bob is changed, the period
will remain unchanged. The period is
influenced mainly by the position of the
pendulum in relation to Earth, as the
strength of the gravitational field is not
uniform everywhere.

In addition, pendulums are a common

system whose usage is seen in various
instances. Some are used in clocks to
keep track of the time, while some are
just used for fun in case of a child’s
swing. In some cases, it is used in an
unconventional manner, such as a sinker
on a fishing line. In any case, we will
explore and learn more about the simple
pendulum on this page. We will discover
the conditions under which it performs
simple harmonic motion as well as derive
an interesting expression for its period.

EXPERIMENT:
Make a pendulum by tying a piece of stone to a long
unstretchable thread, approximately 100cm long.
Suspend the pendulum from a suitable support so that it
is free to oscillate.
Displace the stone to one side by a small distance and
let it go. The stone executes a to and fro motion, it is
periodic with a period of about
two
seconds.
We shall
show that
this periodic
motion is SIMPLE HARMONIC
MOTION for small
displacements from the mean position.
(a) A bob oscillating about
Its mean position. (b) The radial force T-mg
cosɵ provides centripetal force
but no torque about the
support. Tangential force
provides the restoring torque

IMPORTANT TERMS:
The oscillatory motion of a simple
pendulum: Oscillatory motion is defined as the to and
fro motion of the pendulum in a periodic fashion, and the
centre point of oscillation is known as the equilibrium
position.
The time period of a simple pendulum: It is
defined as the time taken by the pendulum to finish
one full oscillation and is denoted by “T”.
The amplitude of a simple pendulum: It is
defined as the distance travelled by the pendulum
from the equilibrium position to one side
Length of a simple pendulum: It is defined as
the distance between the point of suspension to the
centre of the bob and is denoted by “l”.
MOTION OF PENDULUM

A simple pendulum consists of a ball (point-mass)

m hanging from a (massless) string of length L and
fixed at a pivot point P. When displaced to an
initial angle and released, the pendulum will swing
back and forth with periodic motion. The motion of
a simple pendulum is an example of oscillatory
motion. Oscillatory motion is defined as the to and
fro motion of the pendulum in a periodic fashion
and the centre point of oscillation known as
equilibrium position. The motion of the pendulum
is mainly driven by the gravitational force and
occurs in a vertical plane. By applying Newton’s
second law for rotational systems, the equation of
motion for the pendulum may be obtained,

And rearranged as,

If the amplitude of angular displacement is small

enough, so the small angle approximation holds
true, then the equation of motion reduces to the
equation of simple harmonic motion

The simple harmonic solution is,

TIME PERIOD OF PENDULUM
Consider simple pendulum- a small bob of
mass m tied to an inextensible massless
string of length L. The other end of the
string is fixed to a rigid support. The bob
oscillates in a plane about the vertical line
through the support.
Let ɵ be the angle made by the string with
the vertical. When the bob is at the mean
position, ɵ = 0
There are only two forces acting on the bob;
the tension T along the string and the
vertical force due to gravity(=mg). The force
mg can be resolved into the component
mgcosɵ along the string and mgsinɵ perpendicular
to it. Since the motion of the bob is along a circle
of length L and centre at the support point, the bob
has a radial acceleration (ɷ2L) and also a
tangential acceleration; the latter arises since
motion along the arc of the circle is not uniform.
The radial acceleration is provided by the net
radial force T-mgcosɵ, while the tangential
acceleration is provided by mgsinɵ. It is more
convenient to work with torque about the support
since the radial force gives zero torque. Torque τ
about the support is entirely provided by the
tangential component of force
τ= -L(mgsinɵ)
This is the restoring torque that tends to reduce
angular displacement – hence the negative sign.
By Newton’s law of rotational motion,
τ= Iα
Where I is the moment of inertia of the system
about the support and α is the angular acceleration.
Thus, Iα = -mgsinɵL
𝑚𝑔𝐿
(or)𝛼 = − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃
𝐼
We can simplify the above equation if we assume
that the displacement ɵ is small. We know that sinɵ
can be expressed as,
sinɵ = ɵ - ɵ3/3! +ɵ5/5! ±…
where ɵ is in radians.
Now if ɵ is small, sinɵ can be approximated by ɵ
𝑚𝑔𝐿
then 𝑎 = − 𝜃
𝐼
 𝑚𝑔𝐿
From the eqs. We get, 𝜔 = √
𝐼

𝐼
And 𝑇 = 2𝜋√
𝑚𝑔𝐿

Now since the string of the simple pendulum is

massless, the moment of inertia I is simply mL2

𝐿
𝑇 = 2𝜋√
𝑔
USES OF SIMPLE PENDULUM
 Used for time measurement
For 300 years, from its discovery around 1582 until the
development of the quartz clock in the 1930s, the pendulum
was the world’s standard for accurate timekeeping. In addition
to clock pendulums, free-swinging seconds pendulums were
widely used as precision timers in scientific experiments in the
17th and 18th centuries.

 Galileo’s research
Around 1602, Italian scientist Galileo Galilei was the first to study the
properties of pendulums. Galileo discovered the crucial property that
makes pendulums useful as timekeepers, called isochronism; the period
of the pendulum is approximately independent of the amplitude or width
of the swing. He also found that the period is independent of the mass of
the bob and proportional to the square root of the length of the
pendulum. He first employed free-swinging pendulums in simple timing
applications. The pendulum was the first harmonic oscillator used by
man

 Seismometers
A pendulum in which the rod is not vertical but almost
horizontal was used in early seismometers for measuring Earth
tremors. The bob of the pendulum does not move when its
mounting does, and the difference in the movements is
recorded on a drum chart

 Education
Pendulums are widely used in science education as an
example of a harmonic oscillator, to teach dynamics and
oscillatory motion. One use is to demonstrate the law of
conservation of energy.
CONCLUSION:
A device where its point mass is attached to a light
inextensible string and suspended from fixed support is
known as a simple pendulum. The word “pendulum” is a
Latin word, from the Latin ‘pendulus’, meaning
‘hanging’. The time taken by a freely oscillating
pendulum to complete one oscillation is called the time
period of the pendulum.
A pendulum with a longer string has a longer period,
meaning it takes a longer time to complete one back
and forth cycle when compared with a pendulum with a
shorter string.
The mass and angle are the only factors that affect the
period of a pendulum.
The only two factors that affect a pendulum’s frequency
are the acceleration due to gravity (g) and the length of
the pendulum’s string (L).
The time period of the movement of the bob of the
simple pendulum does not affected by its mass. It is
only affected by the acceleration due to gravity of the
place, etc. Size or Shape of the bob. The time period of
the Simple Pendulum is also not depends upon the
Shape or Size of the bob.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Physics textbook for class XI by the
NCERT.
 Byjus
 Unacademy
 Scribd