A pendulum demonstrates the transformation of energy between gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy.
A pendulum is a heavy ball attached to a rope or wire. The wire is suspended from the ceiling or other support. The ball swings freely, back and forth. If you raise a pendulum to one side, all of the energy is potential energy. When you let go, the pendulum drops until it reaches its lowest point. At the lowest point all of the energy is kinetic energy due to its motion and lack of height. Then it will swing again to its peak height, where all of the kinetic energy transforms into potential energy. At this point, the pendulum begins to swing down and the process repeats over and over again.
At any point in the swinging pendulum, the total energy in the pendulum is the same. What changes is the proportion of the energy that is kinetic energy and the portion that is potential energy.
Pendulums
If you ignore friction, what energy transformations occur in a pendulum?
