What's better than a pendulum for studying motion and periods? A double pendulum! Young physical scientists use an interactive to explore pendulum motion—times two. The resource boasts a host of parameters to change and a running graph of angle versus time to analyze.

Concepts

pendulums, motion, mass, angles, length, periods, making observations

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Split the class into three groups, then have each group individually test either rod length, starting angle, or the mass of the ball; compare results as a class when everyone has finished
• Direct pupils to make focused observations of how changing each parameter affects the period of the double pendulum

Classroom Considerations

• Avoid changing all of the conditions at once until learners are comfortable with making observations of the pendulum's motion

Pros

• Users can save their data and compare them with the results of other trials
• The simulation is easy to use without much oversight

Cons

• The ? icon referred to in the About tab is missing from the interactive