SGC

HSC Physics Assignment

By Joseph Trinh
Pendulum Test

Aim: The aim was to calculate the acceleration of gravity using the Pendulum
test
A!stract: the aim of the e"periment was to find the acceleration of gravity#
there!y testing Galileo$s pendulum test The test involved using a string at
different lengths with a constant mass attached to calculate g The mass was
constant !ecause it does not affect the test The oscillation changed as the
length of the string shortens %sing the data# an accurate value for g was
o!tained
&'uipment (ist:
)ass *+,,g-
Stic.y tape
Pole
+ metre ruler
String
Stopwatch
Protractor
Scissors
/escription of varia!les:
0ndependent 1aria!les: The independent varia!le in the test was the length of the
string
/ependent 1aria!les: The dependent varia!le was the time for each oscillation
Controlled 1aria!le: The controlled varia!les were2
&ach string was timed 3 times
+, periods were timed
)ass of the !o! was +,,g
The string is released at +4 degrees off the centre
)ethod:
+ Tape each end of the pole to two different ta!les# measure the distance to
!e more than 5,cm from the ground
6 )easure 3 nylon strings to !e 64cm# 74cm# and 54cm and then tie the
64cm to the pole
3 Attach a mass carrier *+,,g- ma.ing sure the string shortens to a length of
6,cm including half way of mass
7 %sing a stop watch# move the string !ac. +4 degrees# release and time
how long it ta.es for +, periods 8epeat 3 times
4 8epeat steps +97 with the other two strings ma.ing sure they end up !eing
7,cm and 5,cm
+
6
3
8esults
String *cm- Test + *sec- Test 6 *sec- Test 3 *sec-
6, :;5 :;5 :;;
7, +65; +654 +65<
5, +44< +45, +445
Calculations:
&"perimental &rrors:
The errors involved in this e"periment include2
The move of the string attached to the pole as it is swinging to and fro
The stopwatch went in milliseconds and this would have limited the
accuracy
The release of the swing varied on the release of the human hand
=ind resistance may have changed the time
1i!ration of the floor as swinging was happening may have disrupted the
to and fro
Conclusion:
The e"periment was to try and manipulate Galileo$s Pendulum test and get a
similar result or even e"act result However the calculations of the test resulted in
an average of ;:,<g >9 ,,,4 and Galileo$s was ;:+7 The test does prove that
gravity can !e determined through a pendulum test# and that the shorter the
string the 'uic.er the period will !e This is !ecause the time interval !etween
initial and final is decreased# resulting a faster acceleration or period The results
were not precise may!e due to the e'uipment used and the human reaction time
Galileos Pendulum Clock
The &ffects of high G9forces and ?ero Gravity
+ ?ero gravity is often the e"perience of free fall where the o!@ect
or person e"periences weightlessness How ever there is no
place that has Aero gravity in the solar system !ecause the sun
is always having a force on it
6 Some effects of e"tended time in Aero gravity is nausea#
vertigo# headaches# lethargy# vomiting and this all descri!ed as
Space Adapt ion Syndrome or SAS
3 People are accustomed to living on &arth$s surface where they
e"perience gravity and different conditions to of Aero gravity
7 The pro!lems mostly arise on &arth re9entry !ecause when the
astronauts are in space they are e"periencing the change of
environment This starts to affect their !ody slowly =hen they
return to &arth they go through another environment change
An e"ample of a pro!lem that occurs is Bone loss The
su!traction of gravity in space means the human muscles no
longer need to maintain the !ody$s posture This conse'uently
loses !one mass and muscle atrophy This could also cause
osteoporosis
4 Since space ta.es away the force acting on the human !ody#
which cause muscle atrophy and !one loss &"ercise is done in
space to prevent this from happening =hen the astronauts
wor. out they mimic their muscles to wor. out as though on
&arth
5 G9force is the acceleration of an o!@ect e"pressed in g$s Bn
&arth gravity is ;:+7g
< /uring a roc.et launch thrust acts upon an astronaut and
gravity acts down This is an e"ample of Cewton$s third law Dfor
every action there is an e'ual and opposite reaction The force
the astronaut feels is transversal acceleration
: Bn a roller coaster ride# G9force is constantly changing in short
periods of time 8oller coasters going around a !end
e"periences centripetal force of up to appro"imately 5g
depending on the ride =hen roller coaster rides down hull the
G9force increases and the opposite happens when it goes up
hill Astronauts e"perience a much more thrilling ride than roller
coasters# the reason !eing is that the roc.et constantly goes up
and does not slow down over short period of times li.e the roller
coaster This in turn puts 7g force on the astronaut for much
longer than a ride on a roller coaster
; The G9force tolerance on humans depends on magnitude of G9
force2 time e"posed to G9force# location of application and the
!ody posture Human$s can survive a!out 6,97,g instanteously2
however some human$s have survived +4,g> Humans can
tolerate up to 397g for longer time and +,g with transversal
position
+, =hen humans are e"posed to 3g> over a period of time the
!lood starts to move in direction of force The !loody usually
goes away from the head This causes pro!lems for eyes and
!rains mainly =hen the G9force is applied grey out occurs# this
is !lurry vision 0f the G9force increases again# further tunnel
vision will appear then after a loss of vision will occur This is
called a !lac. out# and if the !ody loses consciousness than it
is descri!ed as G9loc
++ G9force is dangerous to human !ody !ecause it cause
!lood pressure and heart rate to increase The !lood and
o"ygen going to the head also slows down !ecause the !lood
flowing away from the heart cause the heart to pump more
!lood to the !rain Since it has minimal !lood to pump around# it
wor.s harder and the veins may pop
+6 Bne method used !y fighter pilots is wearing g9suits
which firmly press onto the lower !ody so that it restricts the
!lood from flowing to fast away from the heart into the lower
!ody The pilots learn to use their a!dominal muscles more to
do this method
+3 Studies from 0nstitute of Aerospace )edicine shows that
men and women are similar in tolerance of G9force However
women are naturally smaller and the placing of the internal
organs are close together and this gives women a faster !lood
flow around the !ody than men
+7 Astronauts are spared from e"cess high g9force !ecause
the way the ship enters &arth$s atmosphere 0nstead of plunging
into &arth the ship comes in at a tight angle using modern
navigation technology 0f the craft enters at , degrees it would
!ounce off at a tangent to the &arth$s horiAontal and !ac. into
space The ship must enter at !elow 4 degrees or else the ship
would s.ip out into space again !ut not at tangent The angle
must !e !etween 4 degrees and < degrees where +,g is
minimum g9force e"perienced A!ove < degrees and ; degrees
will cause the ship to overheat and catch fire After the ship
enters at the right angle it will leave and come !ac. an ellipse
eventually till it slows down due to &arths Atmosphere particles
This entry therefore spares the astronaut from e"cess G9force