The Pendulum Project - Using the Scientific Method

Overview: Students will use the scientific method to solve a problem. They have the freedom to design, conduct, and gather their data and draw their own conclusions.

Instructions:

1. Show a pendulum to the students (simply a weight attached to a string). Swing the pendulum.

2. Ask students the following: Does the number of times the pendulum swing depend on the weight attached to it, or the length of the string?

3. Students then work in pairs to develop a way to answer the question. You may need to remind them of controls and variables. That they should test one variable (length or weight) while leaving the other variable constant.

4. Students test their hypothesis to answer the question. They should organize their data onto a chart or graph.

Materials given to students:

-String
-Masking tape (to secure pendulums- warn students not to hold the pendulums in their hand)
-Various weights (paper clips can also work)

5. Students will then write their conclusions based on the data they gathered and turn in a report

6. Report should contain the following:

--Introduction, question and hypothesis

--Description of how you designed your experiment

--Data tables or graphs

-- Conclusioons

 

Report Rubric

  Excellent Adequate Needs work
Pts
Data Organization Easy to read, had labels and headings to make it easy for the reader to compare data Easy to read, most labels are present, data comparison is not intuitive Not easy to read, data hard to follow or understand, comparisons are extremely difficult to make
3
Data Gathering Plenty of data was taken to make a determination about which variable effected the pendulum the most Enough data was taken to draw conclusions Only one or two data fields taken, not enough to draw real conclusions
3
Experimental Design Each variable was tested separately. Controls were used Variables were tested separately, controls not evident Variables were not tested separately, making it impossible to determine which variable actually changed the pendulums swings
3
Experimental Errors Experiment elinated the majority of errors that could result in an invalid conclusion Experiment eliminated some of the errors that would result in an invalid conclusion Experiment design had many errors
3
Report Grammer No major grammar errors A few grammar errors Many grammar errors, difficult to read
3
Report Organization Easy to read, sections have headings and it is easy to follow Report is somewhat difficult to read, or lacks clear divisions of sections Report difficult to read, not well organized, or appears to be a "rough draft"
3
Report Conclusions Conclusions follow data and clearly answers the experiment's question. Conclusions answer question, but do not follow data Conclusions do not follow data and do not answer the question
3
Report Conclusions Validity Conclusions answer the question correctly. (There is a real answer) Conclusions only partially correct. Conclusions do not answer the question correctly.
3
       
24 total