About Pendulum Lab
Play with one or two pendulums and discover how the period of a simple pendulum depends on the length of the string, the mass of the pendulum bob, the strength of gravity, and the amplitude of the swing. Observe the energy in the system in real-time, and vary the amount of friction. Measure the period using the stopwatch or period timer. Use the pendulum to find the value of g on Planet X. Notice the anharmonic behavior at large amplitude.
How to play Pendulum Lab
Everything is hands-on: drag, click and experiment — the simulation reacts instantly. Play with one or two pendulums and discover how the period of a simple pendulum depends on the length of the string, the mass of the pendulum bob, the strength of gravity, and the amplitude of the swing.
Questions & answers
- What is Pendulum Lab?
- Pendulum Lab is a free interactive simulation from PhET Interactive Simulations (University of Colorado Boulder) that you can play right in your browser on crumble.lol — no downloads and no sign-up. Play with one or two pendulums and discover how the period of a simple pendulum depends on the length of the string, the mass of the pendulum bob, the strength of gravity, and the amplitude of the swing. Observe the energy in the system in real-time, and vary the amount of friction.
- What can kids learn from Pendulum Lab?
- It helps kids explore: design experiments to determine which variables affect the period of a pendulum quantitatively describe how the period of a pendulum depends on these variables explain the small-angle approximation, and define what constitutes a “small” angle determine the gravitational acceleration of planet x explain the conservation of mechanical energy, using kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy describe the energy graph from the position and speed of the pendulum.
- What age is Pendulum Lab good for?
- It is designed for elementary school (roughly ages 5–10) up to university, and curious kids outside that range can absolutely enjoy poking around it too.
- Is Pendulum Lab free to play?
- Yes — Pendulum Lab is completely free on crumble.lol and runs fully in your browser on computers and tablets.