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Build Yourself a Pendulum!
Submitted by: Jeffrey W.
Recommended Grade Level(s):
Appropriate for: Middle School (grades 6–8) and High School (grades 9–12)
Teaching Topics & Concepts:
• Students will be able to measure the amplitude and period of a pendulum with varying mass and length.
• Students will be able to draw conclusions on if and how bob mass, pendulum length, and amplitude of the
pendulum swing affect the pendulum's period.
Standards:
• HS-PS4-1: Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency,
wavelength, and speed of waves traveling in various media.
Time Requirements:
Activity Time: 1 hour
Description:
This lab is meant to demonstrate to students that a pendulum's mass has no effect on its period (which is contrary to many
students' misconception that a larger mass will "slow" the pendulum, resulting in a different period).
Physics Prerequisites:
Students should have previously learned that a pendulum's motion is a type of harmonic motion and can be
analyzed accordingly.
Materials:
• A piece of paper
• String
• Tape
• A pencil
• 2 batteries (or 2 masses of roughly equal weight…basically anything will do)
• A stopwatch (such as available on a cell phone)
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