Name ______Class ______Date ______

GIZMO: Energy of a Pendulum

Go to:

Join the class:

1. Choose your class period and sign in:

1st: WXNJL5LPSN 2nd: QSEJEHPWJ9

5th: JGD9RC8BJU 6th: 4GWBCHU4EL

2. Write your information in your science notebook.

3. Click “Continue” and follow the directions.

Let’s Begin

Prior Knowledge:

A toy car is about to roll down a track, as shown below.

At what point do you think the car will reach its greatest speed? Mark this point

on the image.

A pendulum consists of a weight that is suspended from

a pivot. At what point will the pendulum

move fastest? Mark this point

on the image.

Practice

1. On the description pane change the initial angle to 40

degrees. Click Play . How does the velocity(speed and

direction)of the pendulum change as it swings from right to left?

______

______

Ready, Set, GO!

Click “Reset”

Check that m is 0.5 kg, L is 2.0 m, gis 9.8 m/s2, and θ is 40 degrees.

Activity A: Gravitational and Potential Energy

Question: How are potential and kinetic energy related?

  1. Observe: Select the BAR CHART tab. Click Play and observe. What do you notice about the gravitational potential energy (PE), kinetic energy (KE), and total energy (TE)?______

______

  1. Measure: Click Reset. Turn on Show numerical values.

A.What is the gravitational potential energy? ______B.What is the kinetic energy? ______

C. What is the total energy? ______

  1. Measure: Click Play, and then try to click Pause () when the pendulum is in the middle of its swing. (This might require several tries.)

A. What is the gravitational potential energy now ______

B. What is the kinetic energy now? ______

C. What is the total energy? ______

  1. Analyze: At any given time, what can you say about the total energy of the pendulum?

______

  1. Interpret: Click Reset. Select the GRAPH tab and turn on the PE and KE checkboxes. Click Play, wait about 4 seconds, and then click Pause. What is the relationship between potential and kinetic energy? ______

______

6. As a pendulum swings from its highest to its lowest position along an

arc, what happens to its kinetic energy and potential energy?

_____7.The bar chart below represents the energy of the same

pendulum in which of the answers shown?

______8. Which of the following

statements about the energy

of a pendulum is true?

a. The kinetic energy is always greater than the either the

potential energy or the total energy.

b. Potential energy is always greater than either the kinetic energy or

the total energy

c. The total energy is always greater than either the potential energy

or the kinetic energy.

d. None of the above.