Simple pendulum
Pull a pendulum aside, let it go and measure how long one swing takes. What does it depend on? Also with large angles and damping.
PhysicsGrade 10–13
Oscillations and waves
Pendulums, resonance, wave propagation and interference – with slow motion and real-time graphs.
Link to the German educational standards (KMK)
- SSubject knowledge
- EScientific inquiry
- BKSuperposition and components
- BKMathematising and predicting
Mechanical oscillations
Grade 10–12
Spring pendulum
A mass bounces up and down on a spring. Graphs show position, speed and energy during the oscillation.
Driven oscillation and resonance
A motor drives an oscillating wheel. If the motor hits exactly the right rhythm, the wheel swings especially strongly: resonance.
Waves
Grade 10–13
Transverse and longitudinal waves
A wave travels through a chain of particles. Each particle only oscillates in place, across or along the direction of travel.
Doppler effect
An ambulance drives past and the siren sounds lower. The wave fronts show why. You can also listen to it.
Interference of two circular waves
Two circular waves overlap: in some places they reinforce each other, in others they cancel out.
Standing waves
A wave is reflected at the end and a fixed pattern of nodes and antinodes appears, like on a guitar string.