Estimation of the value of gravitational acceleration (g) Based on Lab Report

Estimation of the value of gravitational acceleration (g) Based on measurements from a simple pendulum - Lab Report Example derived value after factoring in the uncertainty, corroborating the insight that the time period of the oscillation is dependent solely on string length (Ji and Bell 2015; Jardine-Wright 2010). The experiment calls for the calculation of g or the gravitational acceleration via the use of a simplified mechanism, and then undertaking a comparison between the value arrived at from that mechanism with the standard value of g, which is pegged at 9.81. The key principle in the mechanism of the oscillation of systems such as the simplified pendulum lies in being able to grasp the nature of the forces that act on the mechanism. In the pendulum, it is the force of g or the gravitational acceleration which impinge on the frequency of the oscillations, effecting a dampening effect on those oscillations through time. The oscillations of the pendulum mechanism can be construed as being simple harmonic in nature and is periodic. Here the force of restoration is in direct proportion to the pendulum displacement. For the purposes of this paper, the relevant formula is the one that prescribes the value of the time period, which is given thus (Ji and Bell 2015; Jardine-Wright 2010): In the equation above, the value of T is dependent only on the string length l and g. Therefore, given T and l, g can be derived. The insight from the experiment is in being able to understand the way the oscillating system variables affect each other, as stated in the instructions; how the value of g is derived; and what the measurement errors and the causes of those errors are (Ji and Bell 2015; Jardine-Wright 2010). Two people made up a group, and the basic materials were the cotton rope, which was used as the string to hold the weight, which was first a plastic ball and later changed to a golf ball for more weight. The measuring devices were a ruler and an iPhone used as timing device. The rope was tied to the golf ball, and the time to ten oscillations were measured, with the golf ball suspended