Science Pendulum

Aim/Hypothesis: See how mass really affects the period of the pendulum. We could find
no evidence of this online but it goes against common sense so we decided to test it. Our
hypothesis is that it wouldn’t affect it at all. (Thomas thought that it would)

Method: 

1: String up two containers to a solid bar or similar object (we did it to the monkey bars)
Make sure they are the same length from the bar (you may need to do a control test with
no water to make sure you have got it right.

2: Fill one of them with some water (we put in 200ml). The first container weighed 84g
(without water) and the second weighed 284g

3: draw them both up to the same height and release at the same time.

4: record results.

Results: First of all we did it with two glass beakers on the end of the strings but then the one one with the water in it smashed after the string snapped. So then we got to plastic containers and some stronger strings. When we tested it they didn’t swing backward and forward at the same time like the control test. We thought that the period of the pendulum had changed because they weren't even any more and that google must have been wrong, but we were wrong and after extensive research and small scale testing we found that the period hadn’t changed but the more massive one kept its momentum better due to its mass and therefore swung for longer and faster. But they both crossed the middle at the same time. We were tricked by our eyes.