Abstract:
This research aims to study the motion of a simple physical pendulum using a self-constructed experimental setup and to determine the moment of inertia about the center of mass of a hollow cylindrical object and a rectangular aluminum bar. The results obtained from the experiment are compared with theoretical calculations. The experimental setup incorporates a simple physical pendulum, an Arduino board, and an ultrasonic sensor to collect distance data of the object and analyze it to determine the average oscillation period of the physical pendulum. The data is transmitted and displayed in real-time through an add-in program in Microsoft Excel. The experimental results reveal that the moment of inertia about the center of mass of a hollow cylindrical steel pipe is 0.04720 kg·m², with a percentage error of 0.40%. Similarly, the moment of inertia about the center of mass of a rectangular aluminum bar is 0.02819 kg·m², with a percentage error of 0.27%.