Swing Along with a Pendulum: Clocking a Second

Ages: 11-18
Standards alignment: MS-PS3-1, MS-PS3-2, MS-PS3-5
Teaching time: 15 minutes

Students learn the properties of a pendulum and the forces at work as it swings. They apply problem-solving, engineering design, and trial and error to construct a pendulum that swings 60 times in a minute, marking one second with each swing.