Pendulum Lab Callum H. Olivia B. Changing Mass Hypothesis: If we change the mass of a pendulum, the period will change because adding more mass will change the speed of the pendulum, taking more or less time to complete a full swing. Variables: Controlled - Length/Amplitude, Manipulated - Mass, Responding - Time/Period Observations: Mass (g) Length (cm) Amplitude (cm) Time (s) Period 100 60 30 15.67 1.567 200 60 30 15.93 1.593 300 60 30 16.15 1.615 Changing Length: Hypothesis: If we change the length of a pendulum, the period will change because the time it takes for the pendulum to come back to the same amplitude will change because of the length of the pendulum. Variables: Controlled - Mass/Amplitude, Manipulated - Length, Responding - Time/Period Observations: Mass (g) Length (cm) Amplitude (cm) Time (s) Period 200 40 30 13.40 1.340 200 60 30 15.93 1.593 200 95 30 20.41 2.041 Changing Amplitude: Hypothesis: If we change the amplitude of a pendulum, the period will change because of the time difference that it will take the pendulum to reach its original height position. Variables: Controlled - Mass/Length, Manipulated - Amplitude, Responding - Time/Period Observations: Mass (g) Length (cm) Amplitude (cm) Time (s) Period 200 60 25 15.90 1.590 200 60 30 15.93 1.593 200 60 35 16.47 1.647 Analysis: If the manipulated variable does not have an affect on the period then all the periods would be the same. The differences would have to be rather large to see any difference in the periods. To account for human error you have to give a 1-2 result leeway but when doing this you can see that in theory the period does not change in a significant matter. Conclusion: In conclusion, anything can change the period of a pendulum. Big changes from the previous observation will change the period drastically, but small changes will only affect the period in a minor way. This could be human error, but from our observations, anything can affect the period, even in the slightest way.