The Human Pendulum

Several times throughout history, groups of soldiers marching in rhythm across a suspension bridge have caused it to collapse. Scholars experiment with pendulums, resonance, and force to determine why this would happen. First, pupils...

How would a pendulum work on the moon or Jupiter? To answer that question scholars control up to two pendulums including their location, length, mass, and amplitude. Added controls include changing the friction and strength of gravity....

In this physics lab activity students investigate how mass, length and angular displacement affect the period of a simple pendulum. Students control variables, testing one variable at a time, using manual techniques (stopwatch, human...

Students conduct experiments to determine if length, mass, or starting angle has any effect on the rate of a pendulum's swing. They also conduct an experiment online to determine if gravitational force plays a role in the swing. Groups...

An interactive tool where students can explore how a pendulum works, and how length, mass, angle, and friction affect its motion or period. As the pendulum moves, its motion is shown in an angle-time graph.

Add some zing to your swing! Explore pendulum motion through an engaging interactive. Physical science scholars specify the pendulum's mass, rod length, and starting angle before they observe the resulting angle graph.

What's better than a pendulum for studying motion and periods? A double pendulum! Young physical scientists use an interactive to explore pendulum motion—times two. The resource boasts a host of parameters to change and a running graph...

Using a simulation, students will determine that the pendulum period is affected by the length of the pendulum and gravity but not mass in this activity.

Up, down, back, and forth. When you make a pendulum out of a spring, there's a lot to observe. Aspiring masters of motion examine the combined kinetic energies of spring and pendulum motion using a detailed interactive. Learners observe...

Get into the swing of things. Pupils use a pendulum to demonstrate the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy and back. After measuring the speed of a pendulum and compare it to the calculated theoretical speed, they determine...