Determination of g using simple pendulum
Simple harmonic motion · Physics
Simple pendulum
Interactive 3DRelease the bob and watch true small-angle SHM. The period depends only on the string length.
Controls
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m
0.3m2m
°
5°45°
Study notes
A simple pendulum has a string 1.0 m long (g = 9.81 m/s²). Period T = 2π·√(1.0/9.81) ≈ 2.01 s. Shorten the string to 0.25 m and T = 2π·√(0.25/9.81) ≈ 1.00 s — quartering the length halves the period. Releasing from 20° or 40° barely changes T (small-angle approximation).