PASCO ME-9833 Physical Pendulum Set - Manual (Page 20)

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Model No. ME-9833 Physical Pendulum Set
20
Procedure: Measurement of Period
Equipment Setup
1. Measure and record the length, a, and width, b, of the
bar.
2. Measure and record the mass, M, of the bar.
3. Mount the Rotary Motion Sensor on a support rod
so that the shaft of the sensor is horizontal
(parallel to the table).
4. Use a mounting screw to attach the bar to the shaft of the sensor through the hole at the
end of the bar. In other words, attach the bar so the pivot point is at the very end of the bar.
Computer Setup
1. Connect the sensor to a PASCO interface
and connect the interface to a computer.
2. On the computer, start the DataStudio
program. Set up the program so that it
has a Graph display of Angular Position
(rad) versus Time (s).
3. Open the Calculator and select
‘period(10,10,1,x)’ from the ‘Special’
menu in the Calculator. [This function
determines the period of oscillation from
the angular position versus time data.]
4. To define the variable ‘x’ in the Calculator, click the menu down arrow under ‘Variables’
and select ‘Data Measurement’. Select ‘Angular Position’ from the window that opens.
5. Click ‘Properties’ in the Calculator window. Give the function ‘Period’ as the
measurement name and the variable name. Enter ‘sec’ (seconds) as the unit.
6. Create a graph of ‘period versus time’. Click and drag the Graph icon from the Displays
list in the Summary panel to the period function in the Data section of the Summary panel.
7. In the ‘Statistics’ menu of the ‘period versus time’ Graph display, select ‘Mean’. Click the
‘Statistics’ button in the toolbar so that the legend box will show both the data run and the
mean.
Data Recording
1. Gently start the pendulum bar swinging with a small amplitude (about 20 degrees total).
Figure 4-1: Equipment setup
Figure 4-2: Calculator window