Just a swingin'! Introduce physical science scholars to the energy forms associated with a pendulum using a simple interactive. Learners adjust the height from which the pendulum starts, then observe changes in potential, kinetic, and thermal energy as the pendulum slows to a stop.

Concepts

pendulums, kinetic energy, potential energy, thermal energy, motion, height, making observations

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Assign the interactive as a means of incorporating thermal energy into your class' understanding of kinetic and potential energy
• Have students drag the pendulum to different heights and observe the changes in potential energy

Classroom Considerations

• Pupils should have an understanding of kinetic and potential energy 

Pros

• Changes in energy are easy to observe as the simulation plays
• The interactive is easily reset to change the conditions of the trial

Cons

• None