Skip to content

Simple Pendulum

Hardphysics

In the simple pendulum experiment for g, a student wants to reduce the fractional error in the result and considers which single measurement most needs improvement.

Select the correct option:

🔒 Solution Hidden from View

Submit your answer to unlock the detailed step-by-step solution.

More experimental skills Practice Questions

MediumNEET

A pendulum clock keeps correct time on Earth, but if it were taken to the Moon where gravity is abou...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

A simple pendulum used to determine acceleration due to gravity has a measured length of 1.0 m and a...

View Solution→
EasyJEE_MAIN

A grandfather clock keeps time using a simple pendulum, and its bob swings with a period of exactly ...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

Approximate length of simple pendulum with period 2 s (g=10 m/s²)?

View Solution→
MediumNEET

A potentiometer is preferred over an ordinary voltmeter for measuring the emf of a cell, and a stude...

View Solution→
EasyNEET

A student plots the current versus voltage characteristic of a semiconductor diode and observes almo...

View Solution→
HardNEET

A uniform wire of length 2 m and cross-sectional area 1 square millimetre is found to have a resista...

View Solution→
HardNEET

In a calorimetry experiment 200 g of water at 20 degrees Celsius is mixed with 100 g of water at 80 ...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

While studying a filament lamp, a student notices its current versus voltage graph curves and bends ...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

In an experiment with a convex lens, an object placed 30 cm away forms a sharp real image on a scree...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

To determine the focal length of a concave mirror, a student adjusts the object until a sharp real i...

View Solution→
MediumNEET

In a metre bridge the balance point is obtained at 40 cm from one end when an unknown resistance is ...

View Solution→

Browse all experimental skills questions →

About This Question

Subject
physics
Chapter
experimental skills
Topic
simple pendulum
Difficulty
Hard
Year
2025
Tags
fractional error in gsquared period dependenceerror weightingtiming many oscillationspendulum accuracy

Solution

Correct Answer:

The time period, because its error contributes doubly to g

NCERT Class 11, Chapter 2 error analysis applied to shows that the fractional error in is , because the period appears squared while the length appears to the first power. The factor of two means any relative error in the period contributes twice as heavily to the error in as the same relative error in length. Therefore, measuring time carefully, typically by timing many oscillations and dividing, is the most effective way to improve accuracy. The option naming length is wrong because length carries only a first-power dependence and so contributes less than the squared period term. The option about bob mass is wrong because the period of a simple pendulum is independent of mass, so mass does not enter the result. The option about larger amplitude is wrong because large swings violate the small-angle approximation and actually increase error. In practical terms, the timing error per oscillation is reduced by counting many oscillations, since dividing the total time by a large number of swings shrinks the fractional uncertainty in the period proportionally. Because the length contributes only linearly and the period quadratically, an experimenter who has already measured length reasonably well should invest additional effort in precise timing. A consistency check confirms that reducing the doubly weighted period error yields the greatest gain in the precision of g, which is why timing strategy dominates the design of this experiment.

This hard difficulty physics question is from the chapter experimental skills, covering the topic of simple pendulum. It appeared in the 2025 exam.

Looking for more practice? Explore all physics questions or browse experimental skills questions on RankGuru.