VERIFIED LENGTH—
LAST TEN-SWING TIME—
Start with the support stand.
What sets the swing?
Change the length. Time ten swings. Use repeats to explain the rhythm.
Lab options
Your next action
YOUR MISSION
Would a longer pendulum keep the same beat?
Compare 25, 50, and 100 cm pendulums. Time ten complete swings in each trial and repeat three times at each length.
Change only the pivot-to-center length. Keep the bob at 100 g, the release angle at 10°, and gravity at 9.81 m/s². Release without a push.
3 lengths × 3 trials10 full swings per trialStopwatch display: 0.01 s
This is a small-angle teaching model. The stopwatch includes simulated start/stop reaction variation; it does not measure your clicking speed. Ten swings appear in a short time-lapse.
What is one full swing? Why time ten?
Start on one side, pass the center, reach the opposite side, and return to the original side. That is one complete cycle. A trip from one side to the other is only half a cycle.
Period is time per complete cycle: total elapsed time ÷ number of cycles. Timing ten cycles spreads a start/stop timing error over ten cycles. Repeats help reveal variability; they do not eliminate every source of error.
Length is measured from the pivot to the center of the bob, not just along the visible string. The prepared lengths are exact in this model.
Recorded evidence
| Trial | Length (cm) | Full swings | Total time (s) | Period (s) |
|---|
3 / COMPARE AND EXPLAIN
How did length change the rhythm?
Compare mean periods. A larger period means a slower rhythm: each complete swing takes longer.
| Length | Trials | Mean period | Observed range |
|---|
Ranges show observed minimum–maximum periods, not confidence intervals. Numerical variation comes from simulated stopwatch reaction offsets.
Help me explain my results
Measurements from your investigation
These are your recorded model results. Choose the evidence that supports your own conclusion.
- Make a claim.
- Use evidence.
- Explain the science.
- Set a limit.
Before downloading: Does your explanation answer the question, use a number with units, explain why, and state a limit? Revise it above if needed.
This guide does not write or grade your explanation. A teacher reviews your scientific reasoning.
Optional calculation: estimate gravity
For an ideal pendulum at a small angle, T = 2π√(L/g). Rearranging gives g = 4π²L/T². Use length in meters and the mean period in seconds.
Answer choices and the optional calculation are checked automatically. Your teacher reviews the scientific quality of your explanation.