Pendulum Lab

Link to Simulation (requires flash) Use this simulation to explore the behavior of two simple pendulums.
  1. For small displacement angles, period is supposed to be independent of mass and amplitude (amount you pull the pendulum back). Is it true?
  2. How big does the amplitude need to be before this approximation breaks?
  3. Does the period ever depend on the mass?
  4. Grandfather clocks used to use a pendulum with a period of 2 second (1 second between "tick" and "tock"). How long was this pendulum?
  5. Can you determine the acceleration due to gravity on "planet X"?
Credits: PhET Interactive Simulations University of Colorado Boulder https://phet.colorado.edu