http://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/cub_/lessons/cub_mechanics/cub_mechanics_lesson09.xmllessontext/xmlIntegrated Teaching and Learning Program, mechanicsGalileoforcependulumangular momentumgravitymassoscillationperiodweightscientific methodconservation of angular momentumPendulumBobGravityPeriodOscillation

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 the mechanical concept of rhythm, based on the principle of oscillation, in a broader biological and cultural context — in dance and sports, poetry and other literary forms, and communication in general.

Engineers know that understanding the physics of how pendulums behave is an important step towards understanding all kinds of motion. Many other objects move back and forth regularly like pendulums, such as a weight bouncing up and down on a spring, and the back and forth movement of radio waves. In addition to using pendulums in clocks, engineers use them to detect earthquakes, measure how fast a bullet is flying, help buildings to resist earthquake shaking and help robots balance. In Taiwan’s capital city, the Taipei 101 skyscraper has a giant 726-ton pendulum suspended over the 88th floor to counteract winds, reducing the building’s sway and keeping motion sickness at bay. Explain how weight, length and angle of swing affect the period of a pendulum.Understand that it was the study of physics and Galileo’s experiments with pendulums that made clocks possible.Understand how the conservation of momentum relates to pendulums.Give examples of how engineers use pendulums. 50TeachEngineering.orgSabre DurenBen HeavnerMalinda Schaefer ZarskeDenise Carlsonhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/galileo/http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/instruments/pendulum.htmlGamow, George. The Great Physicists from Galileo to Einstein. New York, NY: Harper and Brothers, 1961.Gittewitt, Paul. Conceptual Physics. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley, 1992.http://muse.tau.ac.il/museum/galileo/inclined_plane.htmlWolfson, Richard and Jay M. Pasachoff. Physics: For Scientists and Engineers. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Longman Inc., 1999.S11416DDInternational_Technology_Education_Association-ITEA_STL_StandardsTechnologyF. Knowledge gained from other fields of study has a direct effect on the development of technological products and systems.68S11424D2ColoradoSciencea. Predict and evaluate the movement of an object by examining the forces applied to it 88S11424D3ColoradoScienceb. Use mathematical expressions to describe the movement of an object 88S1142658ColoradoMatha. Add, subtract, multiply and divide rational numbers including integers, positive and negative fractions and decimals 88S11426CFColoradoMathb. Use representations of linear functions to analyze situations and solve problems 88United StatesCopyright 2012 - Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulderhttp://www.teachengineering.org/policy_ipp.phphttp://www.teachengineering.org/2010-08-238Teacher