GSCI 104 Name__________________________________

Using the Scientific Method on the Pendulum

[Link]

Part A: Getting Familiar

1. Go to the website above, and enter the Intro section. (For all PhET simulations, you can also just
search for “Phet”, then select the simulation you want by name; this one is called “Pendulum Lab”.)
Pull back on the pendulum. What happens?

It will swing back and forth under the influence of gravity

2. Let’s explore some of the variables on the right hand side of this simulation. Try changing the mass,
gravity, length of string, friction, etc. Below, write two different statements of things that you notice
in your explorations.

3. Now let’s look at some of the measuring tools. Click on the ruler and the period trace. You can also
hit the “pause” button so that you can make some measurement. Let’s do this. Set the Length of
String to 1.00 m and use the ruler to confirm that the distance from the pivot point to the center line
on the pendulum bob is indeed 100 cm. Pull the pendulum back to a starting angle of 75 o and let it
swing. Use the ruler to determine how high the pendulum swings from its starting point. When I do
this, I find that the highest point on the pendulum path is about 17 cm from the top. That means
the pendulum swings 100 cm – 17 cm or 83 cm high. Do you get about the same result?

Part B: Experiment Practice

4. Now I have an idea to explore, and I am confident I can make the measurements needed to make
progress. My question is: “How does the height of the pendulum change as the amount of friction
increases?” Or in other words, “How does increasing friction affect the height the pendulum
swings?” Note, in this question, I have an independent (x) variable (amount of friction) and a
dependent (y) variable (height of pendulum swing). Generally speaking, questions in my
experiments take the form of “How does y change as x increases?” or “How does increasing x affect
y?” Both the amount of friction (x) and the height of the pendulum (y) can be easily manipulated
and measured, so I have some confidence I will be able to answer my question by doing an
experiment.

Before doing so, I always want to state a hypothesis about my experiment. The hypothesis is what I
think the answer is to my question. Generally, I state my hypothesis in a single sentence using this
form: “I believe that as x increases, y will….” You can fill in the dots with phrases like “increase”,
 “stay the same”, “increase quickly at first then taper off”, “increase steadily up to a point and then
level off”, “decrease”, etc. Below, state your hypothesis about my experiment relating the amount
of friction to the height of the pendulum swing:
I believe that as x increases y will increase quickly at first then
taper off
5. As we proceed, we might realize we have to make further decisions about our experimental design.
I am going to change the amount of friction by two notches at a time, starting from zero and ending
with ten notches of friction. (I call them “notches” because I need to refer to the different amounts
and the simulation did not assign a name or number to the amount of friction.) Also, I notice that
the pendulum height can change depending on how many times it swings. So I need to make a
decision about how many times I will let it swing before measuring the height. Let’s go with three
complete swings. If I find I will have to make other decisions later, I’ll make a note of that in my
discussion later, but for now, I am ready to construct a data table.
The data table should always have at least two columns, one for the independent and one for the
dependent variable. (More columns can be added for calculations, or for repeated trials.) Those
columns should be headed with a name for the variable, and the units of measurement. Each
column should be long enough to include several (at least 3, better 5 or more) settings of the
independent variable, like this:

Amount of Friction (notches) Height of pendulum after 3 swings

(cm)
0 83

2 80
4
77
6
70
8
59
10
43

I’ve filled in the first row for you. Use the simulation to complete the remaining five rows.
(Remember that we are setting the starting angle at 75 o for each swing.)

6. Then next step generally would be to make a graph of our results. If you know how to do that using
the Charts feature of Excel, please insert a “scatter” chart below. If that is inconvenient, you can
skip it. In any case, we always next want to discern a pattern in the data, and then reflect on our
hypothesis. Generally, you will write sentences like “The data shows that as x increases, y …” Then,
“My hypothesis was correct/incorrect since I had said…and in fact…” (In writing this, don’t use ‘x’
and ‘y’, but rather fill in for those with the names of the independent and dependent variables. For
this experiment, write those two sentences below:
The data shows that as amount of friction increases, the height of the
pendulum will increase quickly at first then taper off. My hypothesis was
correct because while we increased the amount of friction the height of
the pendeulum decreased and later just stopped swinging.
7. The final step of this process is to reflect on this experiment, identify ways to improve the
technique, try to explain your results in terms of other experiences or theories, and then share the
results with others. Below, write a few sentences about what you realized during the experiment,
why you think the results came out the way they did, what you think could be done to improve the
experiment, and any other questions that might arise from this experiment.

I feel as if this experiment went pretty well and wouldn’t change

anything because this allowed for me to better understand that
when you change certain aspects with a pendulum whether it be
the gravity, friction, or length. It will change the entire experiment,
making it a knowledgeable experience.

Part C: The Period

8. Click on the Stopwatch tool. Swing the pendulum, and time how long it takes to make one swing.
3.10 seconds Reaction time might be a problem, so now time how long it takes to make
___________________
32.46
ten complete swings ___________ Let’s divide the result by 10 (move the decimal one place).
3.246 That number is a more accurate measurement of the period of the pendulum, which is
_______
defined as the time it takes for one complete cycle. Now, switch over to the “Lab” window on the
bottom of the screen. Repeat what you just did, but this time use the Period Timer tool. What does
1.9722
it say the period is? ________________ Which stopwatch measurement does it more closely agree
with (one swing or ten swings / 10)?
9.

Part D: Exploring Period On Your Own

Let’s go through all of the steps used in Part B above, only this time you get to decide what to explore.
The only restriction is that your dependent variable (y) will be the period of the pendulum. So you are
going to ask a question like “How does the period of the pendulum change as ___ increases?” Or in
equivalent words, “How does increasing ___ affect the period of the pendulum?”

Follow the pattern from Part B to complete each step below.

A. Question:
How does increasing X(length) affect the period of the pendululm?
B. Hypothesis:
I believe that as the X(length) decreases y(Pendulum) will increase in speed
C. Experimental Design: (Describe how you will change your independent variable, and what settings
you will use to keep everything else constant.)

I am going to change the length by two notches at a time,

starting from 1.00m and ending with .20m notches of length.
D. Data Table:

Length (notches) pendulum after 1 swing

1.00m 1.6859 s

.80m 1.5732 s
.60m 1.5549 s
.40m 1.2640 s
.20m .8198 s

E. Discern a Pattern in the Data and Reflect on Hypothesis:

As the length of the pendulum decreasd the 1 swing would
consistenly drop at around the same rate
F. Reflect on the experiment:

After using the Data Table, I recognized that my Hypothesis

was correct and was backed up by it.

You will be sharing your work with a community of scientists through Discussion Board. Be sure to keep
of copy of this and all work you do in this class so that you can refer to it when needed!

Part E: What about Energy?

Go into the Energy section of the Pendulum Lab simulation. Note that KE stands for Kinetic Energy, the
energy of motion, PE stands for Potential Energy, the energy of position, and Etherm stands for Thermal
Energy, the energy we associate with heat and temperature. Etotal represents all of these forms of
energy added together. Swing the pendulum, and note what happens. You might need to slow down or
pause the simulation. Text
10. How do the different forms of energy relate to one another?
While the Pendulum is swinging back and forth it is
11. What causes the value for Etherm to increase? raising or dropping these different forms of energy all
relating each of them to one another
the increase in friction
 KE is at its maximum value in the motion of the Pendulum
12. When is KE at its maximum value? PE?
swinging down the opposite goes for the PE
13. What happens to the energy values when you change things like the length of string, the starting
angle, etc.? Explore some of these issues, and write what you learn below. Please do not take the
time to complete a formal experiment like in Part D (since this is not worth a huge amount of extra
credit), but rather just explore, like you did in Part A #2 above.
The energy values go up, go down, or are entirely gone
when changing the lengths of the string, angel, etc.