Veronica Muth

Mrs. Profeta
Physics 9
4/17/16
Pendulums
Pendulums were created from a string and a weight at one end of it. They will
demonstrate motion until friction stops it. Pendulums were first being experimented on in 1602.
Galileo became very interested in them and wanted to see if their periods were constant. He
observed that a pendulum would be constant if the pendulums angle was no greater than twenty
degrees. Based on a pendulum, Galileo began to build a clock. He had two problems, one had to
do with the pendulums movement stopping from friction. The other problem was transferring
the pendulums energy to a cog-wheel, which could move the dials. Galileo failed to build a
clock. In 1657 Christian Huygens was interested in math and physics, and built the clock.
Clocks were available to see in clock towers. Rich people could own smaller ones inside of
their homes.

My pendulum was created using a saw horse and nine balls attached to different string
lengths connected to a laptops box. Each ball I attached to the strings was different and unique
to me. The base was the hardest part to figure out. I decided to use a saw horse. The saw horse
was used for our robotics table. Since robotics ended, I was allowed to use it for my project.
The laptop box was used to attach the top of the strings. I used the Macbook laptop box because
my dad got a new computer and gave his old one to me. Orange is my favorite color. Because
of this, I decided to use orange balls to write and draw different things on them.
The first ball has the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. I learned about the nine fruits of the
Holy Spirit in eighth grade. They inspired me a lot during the eight grade year, so I decided to
write them on the first ball..
On the second ball, I drew lines to make it look like a basketball. Basketball was the first
sport I played. It was my favorite sport.
The third ball has different sayings that are special to me. Loving everyone as yourself is
a very important life lesson to me and many others.
The fourth ball has all of the subjects I have learned during this past year. Each subject
has a different color for it.
The fifth Ball has many hearts on it showing how much I love physics. Physics is a great
subject. I also appreciated this project. Another reason why there is many hearts is because all
of the eight balls are something that I love.

The sixth ball has Bible verses on it. If you ever have a bad day or need help, look up
one of these verses and it will make your day. Bible verses allowed me to get closer to God.
The Seventh ball has CWNC written all over it. CWNC is the high school I go to now. I
wrote CWNC in our school colors: red, yellow, and black.
The eighth ball has all the sports that I play and have played. In my old school the two
sports I played was Basketball and Volleyball. During this year, I tried two sports I havent
played before. The two sports I play now is Soccer and Lacrosse.
Saving the best ball for last. The last ball has my name on it. My parents named me
Veronica. I was named that because Veronica was known as a women who helped Jesus when he
was traveling to Calvary.
My first ball swung 26 times for 30 seconds. Once I got the time, I calculated the length
using the formula our teacher gave us:
L= g ( T / (2*Pi))^2
Length is equal to gravity times time divided by two times pi squared.
My first length was 32 cm. For the next eight, I added one swing divided by 30 seconds.
Then I calculated the lengths. My eight calculations were 31 cm, 28 cm, 26 cm, 25 cm, 23 cm,
22 cm, 21 cm, and lastly 19 cm. These were the total lengths of my strings.

http://muse.tau.ac.il/museum/galileo/pendulum.html
http://www.epmagazine.org/storage/62.aspx