A student performs an experiment that involves the motion of a pendulum. The student attaches one end of a string to an object of mass M and secures the other end of the string so that the object is at rest as it hangs from the string. When the student raises the object to a height above its lowest point and releases it from rest, the object undergoes simple harmonic motion. As the student collects data about the time it takes for the pendulum to undergo one oscillation, the student observes that the time for one swing significantly changes after each oscillation. The student wants to conduct the experiment a second time. Which two of the following procedures should the student consider when conducting the second experiment?