Simple pendulum – period, energy and measuring g
PhysicsOscillations & WavesAges 16–17
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Sign in to playThree screens: Intro (one or two pendulums; change the string length, mass, acceleration due to gravity and friction; drag to set the angle; ruler, stopwatch, period timer and velocity/acceleration vectors), Energy (bar chart of kinetic, potential and thermal energy) and Lab (measure the period to find the acceleration due to gravity on a mystery planet). It uses the full nonlinear model θ'' = −(g/L)·sinθ − damping, integrated with RK4. Based on the "Pendulum Lab" simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (CC BY 4.0); rewritten.
Lesson: Simple harmonic motion
How to use
Parameters you can change
- Screen Intro, Energy, Lab
- Acceleration due to gravity Earth (9.8 m/s²), Moon (1.62 m/s²), Jupiter (24.79 m/s²), Planet X (custom)
- Acceleration due to gravity on Planet X 1–30 m/s²
- Friction (Intro, Energy) None, Low, High
- Two pendulums (Intro)
- Length of pendulum 1 0.1–2 m
- Mass of bob 1 0.1–2 kg
- Length of pendulum 2 0.1–2 m
- Mass of bob 2 0.1–2 kg
- Mystery planet (Lab) Planet A, Planet B, Planet C, Planet D
- Show the answer for g (Lab)
