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PHYS500 Topic5 Tutorial

This document provides instructions for a learning exercise on modeling and simulating the dynamics of a simple pendulum. Students will work in teams to develop code simulating a pendulum with adjustable parameters like mass, rod length, and initial angle. They will analyze how varying these parameters affects the pendulum's period and motion over time. Individual reports will demonstrate understanding of pendulum concepts and reflect on what was learned.

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Muhammad abdur rehman
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31 views

PHYS500 Topic5 Tutorial

This document provides instructions for a learning exercise on modeling and simulating the dynamics of a simple pendulum. Students will work in teams to develop code simulating a pendulum with adjustable parameters like mass, rod length, and initial angle. They will analyze how varying these parameters affects the pendulum's period and motion over time. Individual reports will demonstrate understanding of pendulum concepts and reflect on what was learned.

Uploaded by

Muhammad abdur rehman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PHYS500 – Classical Mechanics and Thermodynamics

Topic 5 Learning Exercise – Pendulum

Aim: This week, we will explore the dynamics of a pendulum modelled as a mass 𝑚 at the
end of a massless rod of length 𝐿.
Activity: You’ll collaborate in teams to develop code and experiment with the relevant
physical concepts and parameters, share the code and discuss as a group, then submit your
own individual report in which you provide some responses and reflection that demonstrate
your understanding.
Background: Inspired by Galileo’s scientific investigations of the pendulum, Christian
Huygens invented the first pendulum clock in 1656. Pendulum clocks were capable of
keeping time with an accuracy of about one second per year and were the most accurate
time standards available for hundreds of years, until the invention of the quartz clock in the
1930s. In 1851, Jean Bernard Léon Foucault showed that the plane of oscillation of a
pendulum is constant; he famously used the precession of a long pendulum that was free to
swing in two dimensions to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.
Consider a pendulum that consists of point mass 𝑚 at the end of an ideal massless rod of
length 𝐿. The other end of the massless rod is fixed to a frictionless bearing, such that the
rod can rotate in a full circle about this bearing in a vertical plane (the plane of oscillation).
The dynamics of this pendulum can be described completely in terms of the angular
displacement 𝜃. Choose 𝜃 = 0 when the rod hangs vertically (and the mass hangs directly
below the bearing. The initial condition of the pendulum is described by the initial angular
displacement 𝜃! at 𝑡 = 0, at which point and time the mass starts at rest.

Learning Activities
• Derive an expression for the torque on the pendulum and the corresponding angular
acceleration of the pendulum owing to the force of gravity on the point mass as a
function of angular displacement 𝜃.

• Use conservation of energy to predict the maximum angular velocity of the point
mass as a function of initial angular displacement (hint: see the lecture for Topic 3B).

• Start a new Matlab Live Script and set up the variables that describe a pendulum
with a point mass of 1 kg, a rod length of 50 cm, and initial angular displacement of
5 degrees.

Topic 5 Learning Exercise – Pendulum


PHYS500 – Classical Mechanics and Thermodynamics

• Compute the expected period of the pendulum which, for small angular
displacements, is given by
𝐿
𝑇 = 2𝜋*
𝑔

• Write a loop to simulate the motion of the pendulum for two cycles of its periodic
motion with a time interval of 1 ms per step. In each iteration of the loop, compute
the torque on the mass and its corresponding angular acceleration, then update its
angular velocity and angular displacement. Store the time, angular displacement,
and angular velocity in three separate arrays.

• Plot the angular displacement as a function of time. What does the functional form
look like? Does this function have the expected period, amplitude, and phase?

• Plot the angular velocity as a function of time. What does the functional form look
like? Does this function have the expected period, amplitude, and phase?

• Vary the mass of the point that swings at the bottom of the pendulum (e.g. try 10 kg
and 100 kg) and re-run the simulation for each mass. Does anything change? Why?

• Vary the length of the massless rod (e.g. try 10 m and 100 m). Does anything
change? Why?

• Vary the initial angular displacement of pendulum (e.g. try 45, 90, and 175 degrees).
Does anything change? Why?

Report
Write a few paragraphs (around 400 words) that describe what you learned during this
exercise. Feel free to include plots, equations, or selections of code that help to clarify your
report. (Note that in this context a picture is not worth 1000 words!)
Include your report in the “Pass Tasks” of the portfolio that you will submit at the end of the
semester.
To gain a better understanding what is expected, you can ask your tutor for feedback on
your reflection at any time before the end of the semester, subject to the deadlines listed in
the Assessment Schedule.
Although it is not mandatory to submit weekly reports for feedback, it is a great way to
practise your communication skills and improve your ability to demonstrate what you have
learned.

Topic 5 Learning Exercise – Pendulum

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