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Pendulum Prac (1 Viewer)
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Kmahal1990
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Well think about what could make the results go wrong.
Using more accurate measuring devices would help. So a stop watch that goes to 100th of a second will always be better than a wrist watch.
Also if you didnt know this, the pendulum should only be drawn no more than 10 degrees to the vertical.
Using more accurate measuring devices would help. So a stop watch that goes to 100th of a second will always be better than a wrist watch.
Also if you didnt know this, the pendulum should only be drawn no more than 10 degrees to the vertical.
Last edited:
ianc
physics is phun!
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also, not only getting better equipment, but:
- instead of timing just a few oscillations, time 20 or more oscillations then divide the result
- repeat the measurements more times and average the results
and yes that 10 degrees thing is very important, otherwise the formula doesnt work properly
good luck! (btw physics at uni is so much more fun - less writing, more experiments and more maths! and none of that other garbage like "applications to society" or "historical impact" either
)
- instead of timing just a few oscillations, time 20 or more oscillations then divide the result
- repeat the measurements more times and average the results
and yes that 10 degrees thing is very important, otherwise the formula doesnt work properly
good luck! (btw physics at uni is so much more fun - less writing, more experiments and more maths! and none of that other garbage like "applications to society" or "historical impact" either
)
Kmahal1990
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- Male
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- 2007
If you're also interested in improving reliability there is a number of things.
1. Keeping the variables the same.
-The person who records the time, because everyones reflexes is different. By keeping the same person to do all the timing, they your results are more precise.
-It's uneasy to do, but keeping the angle the same, because the greater the angle the more area the pendulum sweeps through, and the more air resistance. It is negligle though.
-However, varying length increases the reliability.
And i just though of one more thing, using a electronic data logger so that human error is less of a problem.
1. Keeping the variables the same.
-The person who records the time, because everyones reflexes is different. By keeping the same person to do all the timing, they your results are more precise.
-It's uneasy to do, but keeping the angle the same, because the greater the angle the more area the pendulum sweeps through, and the more air resistance. It is negligle though.
-However, varying length increases the reliability.
And i just though of one more thing, using a electronic data logger so that human error is less of a problem.