Swinging Pendulum

Learning Objectives
After this activity, students should be able to:

 Explain the concepts of potential and kinetic energy.

 Use the concepts of kinetic energy, potential energy, and conservation of energy to
perform an experiment to determine an object's velocity.
 Describe how the concepts of conservation of energy, kinetic energy, and potential
energy are used extensively in engineering design.

Materials List
Each group needs:

 2 stopwatches; borrow from other teachers or ask students to bring from home
 masking tape; not scotch tape
 10 feet of string or fishing line
 heavy object or weight, to tie to string
 (if mass of heavy object is unknown) scale; one per class; groups can share
 calculator
 Swinging Pendulum Worksheet B (without algebra)

Introduction/Motivation
Remember that an object's potential energy is due to its position (height) and an object's kinetic
energy is due to its motion (velocity). Potential energy can be converted to kinetic energy by
letting the object fall (for example, a roller coaster going down a big hill or a book falling off a
shelf). This energy transformation also holds true for pendulums, as illustrated in the Figure 1.
As a pendulum swings, its potential energy converts to kinetic and back to potential. Recall the
concept of conservation of energy—that energy may change its form, but have no net change to
the amount of energy.

Figure 1. A
swinging pendulum. During the course of a swing from left to right, potential energy is converted
into kinetic energy and back.
copyright
In this activity, you will prove that the transformation of energy occurs by calculating the
theoretical value of velocity at which a pendulum should swing and comparing it to a measured
value.
You will use three equations (write them on the classroom board):
PE = m∙g∙h
KE = ½ m∙Vt 2

Vm = distance ÷ time
where m is mass (kg), g is gravity (10 m/s2), h is height (meters), Vt is the calculated velocity
(m/s), and Vm is the measure velocity (also m/s). To make the calculations simpler, use the
metric system for measurements and calculations. This way, we can approximate gravity as 10
m/s2 and not worry about the English system's wacky units of mass.

Procedure

1. Measure and record the mass of its object or weight.

2. Pick an arbitrary height at which to release its pendulum. Limit the heights to 15 to 40 cm
(.15 to .4 m) from the floor.
3. Calculate the potential energy. Direct each team member to do this as a way to verify
the result.
4. Calculate the theoretical velocity, Vt , at the bottom of the swing.

o Remember, KE at the bottom of the swing equals PE at the top of the swing.

6. Move to a designated area and tie its weight to the string/line so that it barely misses the
ground while hanging.
7. Place two pieces of tape on the wall on opposite sides of the hanging pendulum and
record the distance between the two pieces.

o Set it up so the distance ranges from 30 to 50 cm (.3 to .5 m). Choose a larger

distance for a higher height, that is, h = 40 cm → distance = 50 cm.
o Set it up so the pendulum rests in the middle of the two pieces of tape.

8. One or two students pull back the weight until it reaches that arbitrary height chosen
before (in step 3). Note: This should put it well beyond the piece of tape.
9. Two students synchronize two stopwatches, each holding one, and start timing as soon
as the pendulum passes the first piece of tape and ending as it passes
the second piece.
10. The first student stops their stopwatch when the pendulum passes the opposite piece of
tape and the second student stops their watch when it returns back to the initial piece of
tape.
11. Record both times and calculate the difference in time.
12. Repeat the experiment four times so students can perform each role.
13. Complete the worksheet.
14. How close were the values for the theoretical velocity and the measured velocity?

GUIDE QUESTIONS:

 Where will the pendulum have the greatest potential energy?

 Where will it have the greatest kinetic energy?

 Will pendulums at higher heights go faster or slower? What happens to the potential
energy as the pendulum swings down?
 When the pendulum swings to the other side, what happens to the kinetic energy?
Assessment
Pre-Activity Assessment
Question/Answer: Ask the students and discuss as a class:

 Where will the pendulum have the greatest potential energy? (Answer: When it is pulled
back.)
 Where will it have the greatest kinetic energy? (Answer: At the bottom/middle of the
swing.)
Prediction: Ask the students to predict:

 Will pendulums at higher heights go faster or slower? (Answer: They should go faster.)
Activity Embedded Assessment
Question/Answer: Ask the students and discuss as a class:

 What happens to the potential energy as the pendulum swings down? (Answer: It turns
into kinetic energy.)
 When the pendulum swings to the other side, what happens to the kinetic energy?
(Answer: It turns back into potential energy.)
Post-Activity Assessment
Question/Answer: Ask the students and discuss as a class:

 If engineers can use potential energy (height) of an object to calculate how fast it will
travel when falling, can they do the reverse and calculate how high something will rise if
they know its kinetic energy (velocity)? (Answer: Yes, as long as you know either height
or velocity, you can calculate the other.)
 For what might an engineer use this information? (Answer: Other amusement park rides
besides roller coasters, or determining how high to build the next hill on a roller coaster,
or how to launch something, etc.)

CRITERIA BEGINNER ACCEPTABLE Swinging

(3) (4) Pendulum
CONTENT The task was The task was Swinging
done but with done but with Pendulum
an incorrect minimal error.
response.
SKILLS Members do Members Swinging
PRESENTATION not occasionally Pendulum
demonstrate demonstrate
targeted targeted
process process skills.
skills.
TIME Members do Members finish Swinging
MANAGEMENT not finish on on time with Pendulum
time with incomplete data.
incomplete
data.
COOPERATION Members do Members have Swinging
AND TEAMWORK not know defined Pendulum
their tasks responsibilities
and have no most of the time.
defined
responsibilitie
s
NEATNESS AND Messy A clean and Swinging
ORDERLINESS workplace orderly Pendulum
during and workplace with
after the occasional
activities. mess during and
after the activity.