TI-83 Plus Statistics 315
Chapter 12:Statistics

Getting Started: Pendulum Lengths and

Periods

Getting Started is a fast-paced introduction. Read the chapter for details.
A group of students is attempting to determine the mathematical relationship
between the length of a pendulum and its period (one complete swing of a
pendulum). The group makes a simple pendulum from string and washers and
then suspends it from the ceiling. They record the pendulum’s period for each of
12 string lengths.*
Length (cm) Time (sec) Length (cm) Time (sec)
6.5 0.51 24.4 1.01
11.0 0.68 26.6 1.08
13.2 0.73 30.5 1.13
15.0 0.79 34.3 1.26
18.0 0.88 37.6 1.28
23.1 0.99 41.5 1.32
*This example is quoted and adapted from
Contemporary Precalculus Through
Applications
, by the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, by permission
of Janson Publications, Inc., Dedham, MA. 1-800-322-MATH. © 1992. All rights
reserved.