FE1071: Laboratory Experiment M1  

Work  and  Energy  

           

 
 I. Introduction

This experiment is a demonstration of the conservation of mechanical energy in the

swinging of a pendulum. In physics, the law of conservation of energy states that
energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to
another or transferred from one body to another, but the total amount of energy
remains constant.

A compound pendulum is released from rest at a certain angle from its equilibrium
position and then oscillates at a knife-edged pivot under the influence of gravity. As
the pendulum goes from a higher position to a lower position, its gravitational
potential energy is converted into kinetic energy and vice versa. Therefore the kinetic
energy of the pendulum is max at the lowest point when all its potential energy is
converted into kinetic energy, and the potential energy of the pendulum is max at the
highest point when no potential energy is converted to kinetic energy.

If the mechanical energy is conserved, the potential energy of the pendulum at the
highest point will equal its kinetic energy at the lowest point, defining the potential
energy of the pendulum at the lowest point is 0. That is to say, for any initial angle,
‘potential energy gained at the highest’=’kinetic energy at the lowest point’

II. Objective

Based on the experiment, we’ll have a better understanding of:

a. work done by gravitational force,

b. potential energy in a gravitational field,
c. rotational kinetic energy of a solid body,
d. conservation of energy in a gravitational field, and
e. moment of inertia about an axis.
III. Theory

i. Conservation of Mechanical Energy

For a pendulum swinging back and forth, the mechanical energy, E, shifts between
kinetic and potential energy, but remains constant:
E=KE+PE
PE=mgh
!
KE=!mv2
Here h is vertical displacement from equilibrium, and v is velocity of the bob.
Conservation of mechanical energy for these two instants can be expressed as:
KE1+PE1=KE2+PE2
If the speed at height h is v, then its speed v at height h can be expressed by
v22=v12+2g(h2-h1)
Which gives
1 1
𝑚𝑣! ! + 𝑚𝑔ℎ! = 𝑚𝑣! ! + 𝑚𝑔ℎ!
2 2
This leads to the law of conservation of mechanical energy: if the forces are all
conservative, the sum of the kinetic and potential energies is a constant.

ii. Kinetic Energy of Rotation

In a reference line on a rigid body rotates through

an angle θ, a point within the body at a position r
from the rotation axis moves a distance s along a
circular arc, where s is given by
s = θr
The speed is given as
𝑑𝑠 𝑑𝜃
v= = r = ωr
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
Where ω is the angular velocity of the point.
The kinetic energy of this rigid body can be found as
! !
KE==∑ ! 𝑚! 𝑣! ! = ! ∑𝑚! 𝑟! ! 𝜔! = 𝐼𝜔!
 iii. Pendulum system

The simple pendulum, shown above, consists of a mass M suspended from a pivot by
a massless string of length Lg in figure.  When  the  ball  is  displaced  from  its  resting  
positions  the  string  makes  an  angle  𝛩  with  the  vertical.  The component of the
gravitational force in the tangential direction acts to restore it to its equilibrium
position. Calling x the tangential coordinate (x = 𝐿! 𝛩, the arc length, with x=0 at 𝛩
=0), the restoring force is:
Fx=−mg sin 𝜃
Using  Newton’s  Second  Law,  F=  ma,  the  relation  between  the  tangential  
displacement  x  and  the  corresponding  change  in  angle  𝛩  is  given  by:  
 
 
 
Inserting the expression for the restoring force, our equation of motion becomes:
 
 
simplify it by using the fact that for small angles 𝛩, and 𝛩 expressed in radians, we
may expand sin  𝛩 ≈  𝛩:  
𝑑! Θ 𝑔
+ Θ=0
𝑑𝑡 ! 𝐿!
!
solving it gives 𝜃 = 𝛩 sin( !!
𝑡)  

Because the sine function repeats itself whenever its argument changes by 2𝜋, we can
find T, the time for one period, by setting the argument of the sine to 2𝜋:

𝐿!
T = 2𝜋
𝑔
IV. Apparatus and Set-up

• 1 pendulum (consisting of a long bar with a round disc at one end and a knife-
edged pivot block at the other end)
• support stands
• 1 digital photo timer
• 1 protractor
• 1 stopwatch

Note:
1. Make sure that the pivot block lies along the marked line on the support;
2. Adjust the height of the sensor so that it points approximately at the center of
the pendulum disc;
3. The reading of the protractor should be at the equilibrium of the pendulum.

V. Experimental Procedure

i. Switch on the digital photo timer. Displace the pendulum by hand by an angle
of Θ = 20° from its equilibrium position. Release the pendulum from rest at
 this angle, and record the reading on the timer, that is, t seconds, as the
pendulum passes through its equilibrium (lowest) point for the first time. If
you miss this, repeat the experiment again. Make sure that the pendulum is
swinging on a vertical plane. Repeat using other values of T as given by 30°,
40°, 50° and 60°. Record the reading on the log sheet.

ii. Determine the total angular displacement Δ of the pendulum during which the
timer is activated. Record the reading on the log sheet.

iii. Switch off the photo timer. Displace the pendulum by a small angle (less than
5°) from its equilibrium position. Release the pendulum from rest and check
that it is swinging on a vertical plane. Use a stopwatch to measure the time
form 10 oscillations. Record the reading on the log sheet.

iv. Use the mass balance in the laboratory to measure the mass M of the
pendulum. Remember that the pendulum consists of all components that
oscillate, including the pivot block. Record the reading on the log sheet.

VI. Exercises in lab Manuel

Exercise 1 From equation (3), the angular velocity is determined by

𝑑𝜃 △ Θ/𝐿 0.152
ω= 𝑐≈ = =
𝑑𝑡 𝑡 𝑡 𝑡
Exercise 2 From equation (2) and (4), the Momentum of Inertia is
I=MLg2
Exercise 3 & Exercise 4 As shown in section III iii.

Exercise 5 The distance 𝐿! can be expressed in terms of T and g as

4𝜋 !
𝐿! = 𝑔
𝑇!
Exercise 6 As shown in section III i.
PE = mg(1 − cos Θ) Lg
VII. Experimental Data and Calculation

Time for 10 oscillations: 11s

Period T of oscillation = 1.1s
Mass M of the pendulum = 0.2644kg
Total angular displacement Δ of pendulum for which the timer is activated= 0.152 rad
Distance 𝐿! of the center of gravity of the pendulum form pivot line =0.300 m
Momentum of inertia I =0.024kgm2

Θ(rad) t(s) 𝜔(rad/s) P.E.(J) K.E.(J) %discrepancy

0.349 0.085 1.708 0.047 0.035 25.532
0.524 0.057 2.576 0.104 0.080 23.077
0.698 0.043 3.378 0.182 0.137 24.725
0.873 0.035 4.222 0.278 0.214 23.022
1.047 0.030 4.903 0.389 0.288 25.964

K.E.(J)  against  P.E.(J)  

0.35  

0.3  
0.288  

0.25  

0.214  
0.2  

0.15  
0.137  

0.1  
0.08  
0.05  
0.035  

0  
0.047   0.104   0.182   0.278   0.389  
VIII. Discussion

a) What is the conserved and non-conserved force? Give an example of conserved

and non-conserved force.

A conservative force is a force with the property that the work done in moving
a particle between two points is independent of the path taken. On the contrary,
non-conserved force depends on the path taken.

Gravity is an example of a conservative force, while friction is an example of

a non-conservative force.

b) What  is  the  gradient  of  the  graph  of  K.E.  against  P.E.?  What  can  you  conclude  
from  this?

The gradient of the graph is 0.76,which is approximately 1,  which implies all

the potential energy gained at the highest point of the pendulum is converted
into kinetic energy at the lowest point and vice versa. So the mechanical
energy is conserved in the gravitational field.

c) Determine the center of mass of the compound pendulum through experiment

and determine the distance, Lg, between the center of mass of the compound
pendulum and the pivot. Compare with the value evaluated according to Eq.(9),
is it reasonable to simplify the compound pendulum as a simple pendulum?

If we denote the distance between

the point of suspension, O, and the
center of mass, by l, the period of
this pendulum is:

 
 where k is the radius of gyration of the bar about an axis passing through the
center of mass.

The period of a simple pendulum of length l' is:

By equating above, we may find the values of l such that the compound
pendulum has the same period as that of a simple pendulum of length l':

As you can see, there are two values of l, which we will label l1 and l2, for
which the period of the compound pendulum is the same as that of the given
simple pendulum.

d) What are the possible sources of error for the experiment? Give estimates for the
percentage errors involved.

• Instrument errors. The instrument is not stable. When the bob of the
pendulum falls from a great angle, the pivot moves slightly. This causes an
inaccurate measurement of time T.
• Human error. The error may occur when we read the time recorded by the
stopwatch because of human reaction time. And it cannot be sure that the
protractor is at an exactly perpendicular direction.
• Calculation error. When we did the calculation part, we assumed sin  𝛩 ≈  𝛩,  
which  will  cause  a  small  error  of  the  result.

e) For  a  simple  pendulum  consisting  of  a  mass  M  attached  to  a  very  thin  light  
string  of  length  L,  use  the  conclusion  of  the  experiment  to  derive  a  formula  
which  may  be  used  for  calculating  the  angular  velocity  at  the  lowest  point  of  
pendulum  swing.  
                                                                                                                             KE = 𝐼𝜔! (1)
I=M𝐋𝐠 2 (2)
PE = mg(1 − cos Θ)L! (3)
KE=PE (4)
From   1 2 3 4 , we  get:          

2g(1 − cos θ)
ω=
L!

IX. Conclusion

This report has discussed the conservation of kinetic energy in the swinging of a
pendulum. The objectives of this experiment have been achieved successfully in this
formal report. And the experimental results and the analyses have verified and
strongly supported our knowledge about the conservation of kinetic energy that is the
cornerstones in the study of work and energy. Therefore the skills and knowledge
obtained in this experiment are of great importance in my future engineer courses.
X. Reference

• Laboratory Manual for Experiment M1 Work and Energy, Nanyang

Technological University first year common engineering course

• RA Serway & RJ Beichner: Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern

Physics, 6th Edition, Saunders College Publishing, 2004.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_(physics)

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy#cite_ref-1

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendulum#cite_note-Milham1945-7

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_potential_energy#Gravitational_po

tential_energy