Period & Total Energy of a Pendulum

This tutorial demonstrates how to build a Pendulum system and measure it’s Period and Total Energy using Polytech’s SMART:Blox S5 STEM Set and the STEM LAB Windows application.

Method

A Laser module and a Light sensor are placed directly oposite to each other so that the laser beam is completely alingned with the light sensor cell. A pendulum is placed between the sensor and the laser beam in such a way that the pendulum’s movement disturbs the continiuity of the laser beam, introducing lack-of-light intervals to the light sensor. Real-time measuring results are tracked and displayed on a connected Windows PC.

Contents

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Equipment

  • Hardware
    • SMART:Blox S5 STEM Set
      • ARD:icon controller
      • Laser module AFX02
      • LDR Light sensor AJS03
      • UTP cables (x2)
    • Pendulum apparatus
  • Software
    • Polytech STEM LAB application on a Windows PC

Resources

View PhET Simulation on Pendulum Lab

Safety Notes

There are no special safety requirements for this experiment.

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Set up Instructions

  1. Setup a pendulum system using a Pendulum Apparatus
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  1. Attach and secure the LDR Light sensor AJS03 on an height-adjustable rod on the pendulum stand.
  2. Attatch and secure the Laser module AFX02 on a flat surface of some height.
  3. Adjust the height of the adjustable rod carrying the light sensor in such a way that, when the laser beam is on, it hits directly on the light sensor cell. Secure the rod in this position.
  4. Adjust the height of the pendulum, so that the pendulum mass, when in rest, blocks completely the laser beam from hitting the light sensor cell.
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Connections

  1. Connect the Laser Module to the ARD:icon D9 Digital Input using a UTP cable.
  2. Connect the Light sensor to the ARD:icon A3 Analogue Input using another UTP cable.
  3. Use a USB cable to connect the ARD:icon to the Windows PC.
Continue

Usage Instructions

  1. Move the pendulum mass to start oscillating the pendulum
  2. Launch the Polytech STEM LAB application.
  3. Select “Arduino Pendulum” and press “Start Pendulum.”
  4. Observe the pendulum oscillations in real time on the computer screen.
Continue

Features and Options

  • Swap between Graphs: use the tabs to swap between Freequency/Time graph and Energy/Time Graph.
  • Real time readings: under the graph area you may see valuable readings about the system:
    • Freequency
    • Period (half/full)
    • Velocity (current/max)
  • Calculations: entering details about the pendulum’s mass width and weight, the SMART LAB application will also provide insights about the pendulum’s:
    • Kinetic Energy
    • Potential Energy
    • Total Mechanical Energy
    • Mass height

End of tutorial

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