Abstract
This experiment uses a simple pendulum to measure the acceleration due to gravity. This is done by timing the pendulum’s oscillations for several different string lengths. For small release angles, the motion of the pendulum can be approximated as simple harmonic motion, leading to the linear relationship between the period of oscillation and the square root of the length of the pendulum. The time for ten oscillations was measured for multiple trials for ten different lengths. A weighted linear fit of period versus the square root of length was used, whose slope was proportional to \(g\). This gave \(g\) = 10.01 \(\pm\) 0.04m/s\(^2\). This value is slightly larger than the accepted value, likely due to systematic timing uncertainties. The results clearly follow the expected linear relationship.
