The Science of Swinging
Students learn what a pendulum is and how it works in the context of amusement park rides. While exploring the physics of pendulums, they are also introduced to Newton's first law of motion — about continuous motion and inertia.
How do pendulums work?Copyright https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Pendulum#/media/File:PenduloTmg.gif
Pendulums are used in many engineered objects, such as clocks, metronomes, amusement park rides and earthquake seismometers. In addition, engineers know that understanding the physics of how pendulums behave is an important step towards understanding motion, gravity, inertia and centripetal force. Engineers apply their understanding of these motion concepts to determine the force needed to propel an object into outer space, the braking power required to stop a vehicle at high speeds, and the optimal curve of a highway ramp. Teams of engineers work on a wide range of projects and solve problems that are important to society.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Describe how a simple pendulum moves.
- Relate pendulums to Newton's first law of motion.
- Explain several uses for pendulums in modern, everyday engineering applications.