Student Exploration: Energy of a Pendulum
Vocabulary: conservation of energy, gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, pendulum,
potential energy, velocity
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. A toy car is about to roll down a track, as
shown below. At what point do you think 2. A pendulum consists of a weight that is
the car will reach its greatest speed? suspended from a pivot. At what point will
the pendulum below move fastest?
Mark this point on the image with the “X”.
Mark this point on the image with the “X”.
3. What do these two situations have in common?
Gizmo Warm-up
Objects have several types of energy. Potential energy depends on an object’s position or
shape. Kinetic energy is the energy of movement. The Energy of a Pendulum Gizmo allows
you to explore how the amounts of these types of energy change for a pendulum in motion.
1. On the DESCRIPTION pane, change the initial
angle (θ) to 40 degrees. Click Play ( ). How
does the velocity (speed and direction) of the
pendulum change as it swings from right to left?
2. On the image at right, mark the point where the
pendulum swings fastest with an X. Then, circle
the two points where the velocity is zero.
2019
This study source was downloaded by 100000809669238 from CourseHero.com on 03-10-2022 14:01:16 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/60238304/Colin-Falk-Energy-of-a-Pendulum-Worksheetdocx/
, Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
Click Reset ( ).
Potential and
Check that m is 0.5 kg, L is 2.0 m, g is 9.8 m/s2,
kinetic energy
and θ is 40 degrees.
Introduction: An object that is a certain height (h) above the ground has the potential to do
work, and therefore has potential energy. This type of potential energy is called gravitational
potential energy (GPE, or PE for short). The unit of energy is the joule (J).
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)?
2. 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?
3. 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 now?
4. Analyze: At any given time, what can you say about the total energy of the pendulum?
This illustrates the principle of conservation of energy. In a closed system, energy can be
converted from one form to another, but the total amount of energy remains the same.
This study source was downloaded by 100000809669238 from CourseHero.com on 03-10-2022 14:01:16 GMT -06:00
2019
https://www.coursehero.com/file/60238304/Colin-Falk-Energy-of-a-Pendulum-Worksheetdocx/
Vocabulary: conservation of energy, gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, pendulum,
potential energy, velocity
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. A toy car is about to roll down a track, as
shown below. At what point do you think 2. A pendulum consists of a weight that is
the car will reach its greatest speed? suspended from a pivot. At what point will
the pendulum below move fastest?
Mark this point on the image with the “X”.
Mark this point on the image with the “X”.
3. What do these two situations have in common?
Gizmo Warm-up
Objects have several types of energy. Potential energy depends on an object’s position or
shape. Kinetic energy is the energy of movement. The Energy of a Pendulum Gizmo allows
you to explore how the amounts of these types of energy change for a pendulum in motion.
1. On the DESCRIPTION pane, change the initial
angle (θ) to 40 degrees. Click Play ( ). How
does the velocity (speed and direction) of the
pendulum change as it swings from right to left?
2. On the image at right, mark the point where the
pendulum swings fastest with an X. Then, circle
the two points where the velocity is zero.
2019
This study source was downloaded by 100000809669238 from CourseHero.com on 03-10-2022 14:01:16 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/60238304/Colin-Falk-Energy-of-a-Pendulum-Worksheetdocx/
, Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
Click Reset ( ).
Potential and
Check that m is 0.5 kg, L is 2.0 m, g is 9.8 m/s2,
kinetic energy
and θ is 40 degrees.
Introduction: An object that is a certain height (h) above the ground has the potential to do
work, and therefore has potential energy. This type of potential energy is called gravitational
potential energy (GPE, or PE for short). The unit of energy is the joule (J).
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)?
2. 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?
3. 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 now?
4. Analyze: At any given time, what can you say about the total energy of the pendulum?
This illustrates the principle of conservation of energy. In a closed system, energy can be
converted from one form to another, but the total amount of energy remains the same.
This study source was downloaded by 100000809669238 from CourseHero.com on 03-10-2022 14:01:16 GMT -06:00
2019
https://www.coursehero.com/file/60238304/Colin-Falk-Energy-of-a-Pendulum-Worksheetdocx/
