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 the percent error for the measured speed and justify the differences.

Concepts

energy, potential energy, kinetic energy, pendulums, mass

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the equations to determine the potential and kinetic energy of other objects
• Calculate the period for various string lengths

Classroom Considerations

• Requires a way to connect the pendulums to the ceiling

Pros

• The activity contains assessment questions to ask the pupils before, during, and after the activity
• The answer key provides possible answers

Cons

• The exponents in the equations in the activity do not display correctly

Common Core

HSA-CED.A.4 HSA-REI.B.4.b