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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Swinging Pendulum

For Teachers 7th - 9th
This activity demonstrates how potential energy (PE) can be converted to kinetic energy (KE) and back again. Given a pendulum height, students calculate and predict how fast the pendulum will swing by understanding conservation of energy...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Swinging Pendulum

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This activity shows students the engineering importance of understanding the laws of mechanical energy. More specifically, it demonstrates how potential energy can be converted to kinetic energy and back again. Given a pendulum height,...
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Kinetic and Potential Energy of Motion

For Teachers 7th - 9th
In this lesson, students are introduced to both potential energy and kinetic energy as forms of mechanical energy. A hands-on activity demonstrates how potential energy can change into kinetic energy by swinging a pendulum, illustrating...
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Swinging on a String

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students explore how pendulums work and why they are useful in everyday applications. In a hands-on activity, they experiment with string length, pendulum weight and angle of release. In an associated literacy activity, students explore...
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Handout
New Advent

Catholic Encyclopedia: Jean Bertrand Leon Foucault

For Students 9th - 10th
A lengthy biographical sketch from The New Advent of Jean-Bertand-Leon Foucault (1819-1868 CE) physicist and mechanician. Discusses his upbringing, scientific work, major accomplishments and published articles. Please note that "The...
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Activity
University of Maryland

Thinking Problems in Oscillations and Waves: Pendulum

For Students 9th - 10th
A series of thought-intensive, multichoice questions concerning pendulums and provided for by the University of Maryland. A downloadable software program on pendulums is also included.
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Using Ph Et Simulations in High School Open Ended Pendulum Labs

For Teachers 9th - 10th
These labs provide examples of using very open-ended questions to guide students in exploring a simulation and designing their own experiments. These labs can lead to a high level of quantitative thinking about data analysis.
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Hanging Out With Galileo

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students isolate the factors that determine the period of a pendulum, and then test their hypotheses to determine if their experimental results come close to the mathematical results.
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Unknown Type
Physics Aviary

Physics Aviary: Practice Problems: Energy/momentum Ballistic Pendulum

For Students 9th - 10th
Students must predict the pre-collision speed of a ball that has been captured by a ballistic pendulum.
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Unknown Type
Physics Aviary

Physics Aviary: Practice Problems: Energy of Displaced Pendulum

For Students 9th - 10th
Students must predict the speed a pendulum bob will have after it has reached the lowest point of its swing.
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Unknown Type
Physics Aviary

Physics Aviary: Practice Problems: Robin Hood Swing

For Students 9th - 10th
Students must predict how far Robin Hood will move horizontally as he first swings like a pendulum and then sails like a projectile into a lake below. This video explains the problem: https://youtu.be/4ZEmvPEJTW4
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Activity
TOPS Learning Systems

Tops Learning Systems: Top Science: Paper Clip Pendulums [Pdf]

For Students 3rd - 8th
Investigate how the length of a pendulum's chain or string affects the frequency of its swings.
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Activity
TOPS Learning Systems

Tops Learning Systems: Top Science: Clock Pendulum [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Create a clock that accurately keeps time using a pendulum.
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Activity
University of Arizona

The University of Arizona: Modeling With Sinusoidal Functions [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site provides several real-world application problems that can be solved using sinusoidal functions. Students are asked to sketch, model and solve the problems.
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Interactive
Concord Consortium

Concord Consortium: Molecular Workbench: Double Inverted Pendulum Oscillating

For Students 9th - 10th
Adjust frequency, amplitude, and perturbation in this simulation to graph the trajectory of a mass at the end of each pendulum.
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Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Foucault Pendulum

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a detailed description of the Foucault Pendulum and how it works. It was originally built to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.
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Handout
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: Mac Tutor History of Mathematics: Christiaan Huygens

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens. Hyperlinks to related information.
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Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: The Simple Pendulum

For Students 11th - 12th
By the end of this section, you will be able determine the period of oscillation of a hanging pendulum.
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eBook
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Work and Energy: Energy Transformation for a Pendulum

For Students 9th - 10th
The motion of a pendulum is a classic example of mechanical energy conservation. See the mechanics at work here in this animation.
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Unit Plan
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Pendulum Motion

For Students 9th - 10th
This tutorial investigates pendulum motion and how a variety of quantities change over the course of time. Such quantities will include forces, position, velocity and energy - both kinetic and potential energy. Take the interactive...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Pendulums Swing Into Motion

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This lesson will allow students in groups to describe the relationship between energy, work, and force through the use of pendulums. The results will be reported through a graphing activity as well as a paragraph written and printed on...
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Interactive
Concord Consortium

Concord Consortium: Energy of a Pendulum

For Students 9th - 10th
In this interactive, drag a pendulum to set its initial height and observe how height is related to potential energy. Then release the pendulum and observe the change from potential energy to kinetic energy, and ultimately to thermal...
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Handout
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Physics: Harmonic Motion Study Guide

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore and review harmonic motion with this illustrated guide.
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Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Physics Simulation: Oscillations Simulation

For Students 9th - 10th
Use this interactive to learn the physics behind oscillation.