Pendulums

Formative Assessment:
Answer: C. It will take the same amount of time
It will take the same amount of time because even though the weight is changing the swing and time will be consistent.

Questions:
1) What is your personal experience with swinging on anything like a trapeze?
     My personal experience with swingning on something like a trapeze is when I was in gymnastics perfoming on bars.  I would have to do giants around the high bar and jump from the low bar to the high bar which is kind of similar to a trapeze the swinging aspect of a trapeze.  Swing sets, monkey bars, a swing, the circus.

2) What application to "real life" do swinging objects have?
    Swinging objects in real life could include when we were kids how we would go swinging on the swings in elementary school, a tree or tire swing that goes back and forth, and a grandfather clock.

3)What is your prediction about what will happen if 2 people are on one trapeze and onlly one is on the other and they both let go at the same time? Explain.
The two trapeze will hit the ground at the same time because of the consistent swing with the pendulum. They will hit the floor at the same time because the pendulum has a consistent swing and the frequency is the same.    

4)What understanding or ideas do you have about the science of back-and-forth swinging objects?
It is called a pendulum, it swings at a constant rate back and forth.  Other than that I am not sure of any other terms or knowledge behind pendulums.



Lab: Prediction:
1 Washer: 10 times in 10 seconds
2 Washer: 12 times in 10 seconds
3 Washers: 15 times in 10 seconds
4 Washers: 17 times in 10 seconds

Questions:
1) Why doesn't weight affect the pendulum?
2) Would the angle measurment affect the pendulum?
3) Would it be different if you had the washers in a different positions? Such as hanging off of each other?
4) Would the length of the string affect the frequency of the pendulum?
5) How would you get the quickest swing?
6) How would you get the shortest swing?
7) Would the previous questions affect how many times the pendulum swings in 10 seconds?
8) Would changing the amplitude change the frequency?
9) Why did we have the times about the same every time?
10) What actually makes a pendulum go back and forth?


Analyze Questions:
a. Using the materials we were given in class I could investigate: number 2, number 3, number 4, number 5, number 6, number 7 and number 8.
b.  Using different materials: I think it would be interesting to use a protractor and measure the different lengths, I will need scissors for question number 4, I think that is it.
c.  Beyond the scope: The questions I thought that were beyond the scope are: question numbers 1, 5,6,9, and 10.
I would find these answers by investigating through the internet, asking questions, by doing more experiments to answer those questions, talking to an expert, and paying attention to the world around you to see if the answers are in the real world. Other than these I am not sure what the other ways to find out these answers would be but I know there are a lot more.
d. I am personally interested in the following questions: number 1, 4 and 9.
   Question 1: I am interested in this question because I am not sure of the answer and I would really like to know why the weight did not affect the number of times in ten seconds, I thought it would.
    Question 4: I am interested in this questions because it is a different variable compared to weight and I would like to see if any other variable changes the frequency of the pendulum.  I would predict that the length of string would affect the frequency but I would like to do an experiment to see if I am correct.
    Question 9: I am interested in this question because I really don't know the answer. How can it be the same every time?  I know now weight does not affect the frequency but what about the other variable's? How can it be the same frequency every time?  I am not a  fan of not knowing things and when I don't know the answer I like to figure it out.




Open Inquiry:

1). A. We chose string length because the group predicts that the different string length will affect the frequency of the pendulum.
     B. It is important because the distance with one period may affect the frequency of the pendulum depedning on the string length.
     C.  How does string length affect the frequency of the pendulum.
2) Design an Investigation: 

•     Materials: 
• 3 Different length of string: (11 in, 18 in, 3 in)
• One wooden rod
• 1 plastic clip
• duct tape
• stop watch
• post it (angled at 22.5 degrees)
• 3 washers
• Procedure: 
1. We used the same set up as before, only this time we interchanged the length of the string (3 in, 18in and 11in) between trials.  

3) Investigate:
Long String: 18 in 

        Trial 1        Trial 2         Trial 3
1        8                 8                  8
2        8                7.5                8
3        8                 8                 7.5
4        8                 8                  8

Short String: 3in

       Trial 1        Trial 2         Trial 3
1        14.5             14.5             14.5
2        14.5             15               14.5
3        14.5             15                15
4        15               14.5            14.5

From collecting data, we have concluded that string length does affect the frequency of the pedulum. The shorter the string, the higher the frequency and the longer the string, the lower the frequency.  

4) Evaluate: 

• We compared our results with two different groups in class and found our results being the same.  
• Also, by looking online we have concluded that the string length does affect the frequency of the pendulum.  The smaller the string the faster the frequency, the longer the string the slower the frequency becomes.  

5) Share Results: 

•  In class we shared our results with the rest of the class stating that string length does affect the frequency of the pendulum.  

Quiz: 
Based on what we have done previously today Fred's swinging experience will consist of swinging side ways because the ropes are different lengths.