Education Technology


The Period of a Pendulum

Activity Overview

Students will use a simulated pendulum to collect data on length and period. Then, they will develop mathematical models of the relationship between the length of a pendulum and its period. They will confirm that the relationship is nonlinear and that period is directly proportional to the square root of length.

Key Steps

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    Students should record the value of time for each of the values of l in the Lists & Spreadsheet application on page 1.6. Students should observe that increasing the length increases the period. They should enter the time data from page 1.5 into the spreadsheet on page 1.6.