Question

A pendulum of length L=36.1 cm and mass m=168 g is released from rest when the cord makes an angle of 65.4 degrees with the vertical.
(a) How far does the mass fall (y-displacement) before reaching its lowest point?
(b) How much work is done by gravity as it falls to its lowest point?
(c) How much work is done by the string tension as it falls to its lowest point?

Answer 1

(a) -0.211 m

At the beginning the mass is displaced such that the length of the pendulum is L = 36.1 cm and the angle with the vertical is

$\theta=65.4^{\circ}$

The projection of the length of the pendulum along the vertical direction is

$L_y = L cos \theta = (36.1 cm)(cos 65.4^{\circ})=15.0 cm$

the full length of the pendulum when the mass is at the lowest position is

L = 36.1 cm

So the y-displacement of the mass is

$\Delta y = 15.0 cm - 36.1 cm = -21.1 cm = -0.211 m$

(b) 0.347 J

The work done by gravity is equal to the decrease in gravitational potential energy of the mass, which is equal to

$\Delta U = mg \Delta y$

where we have

m = 168 g = 0.168 kg is the mass of the pendulum

g = 9.8 m/s^2 is the acceleration due to gravity

$\Delta y = 0.211 m$ is the vertical displacement of the pendulum

So, the work done by gravity is

$W=(0.168 kg)(9.8 m/s^2)(0.211 m)=0.347 J$

And the sign is positive, since the force of gravity (downward) is in the same direction as the vertical displacement of the mass.

(c) Zero

The work done by a force is:

$W=Fd cos \theta$

where

F is the magnitude of the force

d is the displacement

$\theta$ is the angle between the direction of the force and the displacement

In this situation, the tension in the string always points in a radial direction (towards the pivot of the pendulum), while the displacement of the mass is tangential (it follows a circular trajectory): this means that the tension and the displacement are always perpendicular to each other, so in the formula

$\theta=90^{\circ}, cos \theta = 0$

and so the work done is zero.