Pendulums
by:  Kelli Milton And Jennifer Berger
Objectives:  The students will explore the concept of pendulums and develop a hypothesis explaining what they think controls how a swing moves.  After completing this lesson, the students will be able to explain how weight and length affect the period of a pendulum
Procedures:
1.  Hand out the K’nex toys to the students.  Explain to them that they are to build a
     swing-set like the one shown in the picture using K’nex.
2.  Introduce the following terms to your students:  pendulum, hypothesis, weight, length,
3.  Have the students develop their own hypotheses (in groups of 3-4) that explain what
     they think controls how a swing moves.
4.  Allow the groups time for experimenting with their swings.
5.  Make sure the students record any important observations they make.

 Questions for Discussion:
 1.)  When you swing higher, do you swing faster?
 2.)  Is your weight important in determining how long it takes a swing to go back,
                  forward, and back again?
 3.)  Is the length of the “chain” important in determining how long it takes a
                  swing to go back, forward, and back again?

6.  After discussion, students will be allowed to go outside to the swings and test their
     hypotheses.
7.  Students will explain what they found out about their hypotheses in either a discussion
     or a short paper.
Evaluation:  I will know if the students met the objective if they are able to explain the outcomes of their experiments and hypotheses.

This fits into the Indiana Science Proficiency Guide 1.3 - manipulation and observation:
The students should be able to:
 -make something out of paper, cardboard, wood, plastic, metal, or existing
  objects that can actually be used to perform a task.