Guided Inquiry - Pendulums

     The question I decided to focus on for the guided inquiry activity was, which pendulum will come to rest more quickly – a lighter pendulum or a heavier pendulum? The school I currently teach at has invested in CPO science for grades six through twelve, so I had tools outside of the materials given for this activity. To answer the given question I used a stand, pendulum, weights, a timer and a photogate. After setting up the pendulum I set the timer to “count” mode and put ten weights on the pendulum. I pulled the pendulum back until it was at an amplitude of thirty, then released the pendulum and started a stopwatch at the same time. I then repeated the process with five weights. As the pendulum swings through the photogate the timer counts how many times the pendulum passes through the photogate. For my first trial, I set the pendulum up with ten weights and the timer recorded the pendulum passing through the photogate 352 times and stopped after 318 seconds. For my second trial, I set the pendulum with five weights and it passed through the photogate 356 times and stopped after 367 seconds. My data shows that a pendulum with more weight will slow down faster due to air resistance. My results were what I expected because the air resistance opposes the motion of the swinging pendulum so the more weight the pendulum has the stronger the opposing force slows it down.
    
     Overall everything with the experiment went well. My biggest challenge was figuring out how I was going to get from the question to the results that would answer the question.  But, through trial and error I figured out what I needed to do to get the results. To get a different result for this activity I would have students choose to test if the length of the string affects the stop time or the amplitude from which the pendulum is dropped affects the stop time.
    
     I would set the same experiment up for my students because they were already curious and asking questions about the experiment. I would have my students complete the same test, will weight affect the stop time of the pendulum, and then add an extra experiments on how amplitude and the length of the sting affects stop time. This experiment is relevant to my student’s lives because they are always out playing on the swings. After completing the experiment inside with the pendulum, I would take my students outside and see if they get the same results on a swing.
    
     From completing this experiment I would like my students to better understand the concepts we have studied in class. They will get to see how Newton’s Laws and air resistance (friction) affect a pendulum and then later a person on a swing. This experiment will also provide a good teachable moment to introduce the concept of momentum. If and when I do this experiment with my class I feel it will be very successful. It allows students to review past concepts and ideas and test to see how they affect different objects.