Week 4

 

1. The big question addressed in lab, and a description of what you did.
1. The big question that was addressed in the lab was, what affects how long it takes a swing to go back and forth? To solve this question we built our own pendulum using a pencil, tape, string, paper clip, and washers. We used the string at one length but increased the weight to see if the swing time would decrease, but it did not. We made the string shorter and then continued to increase the weight, the time of each swing till did not change. 
2. A description of what you learned in Thursday's lecture.
1. In lecture this week, I learned that weight does not affect the swing. This is because gravity pulls down on people who have more weight with more force, but that only affects the acceleration. 
3. Answer questions about the weekly textbook reading:
   1. What did you learn?
   1. Weight does not affect a pendulum's time period. 
   2. What was most helpful?
   1. The most helpful part of this reading was the virtual pendulum lab which let me experiment on different factors like weight, height, and speed. I also liked to see all the results on the energy graph plus the velocity and acceleration.  
   3. What questions/concerns/comments do you have?
   1. I liked that this reading was more interactive with the questions, lab, and videos.