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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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To create a model that helps explain the motions of the FP, create a small
18" to 24" high tripod with coat hanger wire or anything else that works.
Attach the tripod to a turntable or lazy-susan.  Hang a sinker (the more
massive the better) from the tripod and place standing dominoes completely
around the tripod near the edge.   Swing the sinker pendulum and very slowly
turn the turntable so that the turning motion does not knock down the
dominoes.  The sinker then knocks the dominoes off the turntable as the
table turns.

Interesting questions:  If the turntable turns and the string of the
pendulum is connected to the tripod and the tripod is connected to the
turntable, how come the pendulum does not turn with the turntable and thus
does not knock down the dominoes?  Or maybe it does turn with the turntable?
Or maybe the pendulum does turn with the turntable and the swing of the
pendulum does not turn with the turntable?  How could we find out?   Make
marks on the sinker and see if the sinker turns?   How far does the
turntable need to turn to knock down all of the dominoes, half way or all
the way?  

To see if effect happens with the Earth you can hang a bowling ball form a 8
to 20 foot rope from the ceiling in a room with very few air currents.  Make
a line on the floor and swing the ball so it follows the line.   Watch and
see if the pendulum moves off of the line (swings so that it no longer
follows the line) before it stops swinging.  Foucault's reasoning was that,
if the direction of swing of the pendulum was changing, something must be
causing it to change.

Hope this helps.

Bill Schmitt    

-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Katie Kulbaba
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2007 10:38 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Foucault's pendulum

ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
****************************************************************************
*

Does anyone have a lesson plan for a grade 5 student to build a Foucault
pendulum at home using dominoes (specifically) and other simple household
objects?  I have found many examples, but no actual lesson plans with
materials and instructions.

Thank you for your assistance!

Katie Kulbaba
Orlando Science Center
(407) 514-2063
[log in to unmask]
www.osc.org


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