Pendulum Experiment

 The question I decided to investigate this week was “Which pendulum will come to rest more quickly- a lighter pendulum or heavier pendulum?”  To investigate this question I set up two pendulums of equal length (15 inches) but with different sized washers.  One pendulum had a washer weighing 28 grams, the other had a washer weighing 2.8 grams.  After conducting a few trials, my results were exactly what I had predicted to happen, the lighter one came to rest sooner than the heavier one.  This was a pretty easy experiment to conduct, there were not too many things that could go wrong.  I had a few issues at first trying to get the pendulum to swing without hitting into the desk it was hanging from, but after a few trials, I was able to get it to swing in a semi-strait path without any contact with the desk. 

Materials needed for the experiment, minus the vitamin water.

Some things that I could change to this experiment to get a different or modified result would be to change the question to “Does the length of the pendulum affect the time it will take for a pendulum to come to a rest?”  This would change the variable tested during the experiment from testing the weight to testing the length of the strings used.  I’m sure that with different variables would come different results. 

This experiment could easily be modified as a lesson for my 5^th grade class.  I could change the wording around to make it more engaging for my students.  Instead of using the word pendulums, which I would then introduce to them after they conducted the experiments, I could call it a swing experiment.  I would pose the question as “Does the weight of the person affect how long they will swing without being pushed?”   We could then use the swings on the playground to test out their hypothesis.  I think by changing some vocabulary and making it relevant to something they use in their free time during recess would make it more engaging for my students.  Also the fact that we would be using swings on the playground would increase the fun and interest level among my class.  I think that this would be a great way to teach the children about the affects mass plays in momentum of objects, much like the pendulum experiment taught me.