Make a simple pendulum by tying a piece of string onto a ball
or a rock or a stone. Measure its period as you swing it with
different amplitudes. Measure its period as you swing it with
different lengths of string.
Make a list of everyday things that exhibit simple harmonic
motion.
Measure your period (or ask a friend to measure your period)
as you swing on a playground swing while sitting down and while
standing up. Why is it different in these two cases?
Find a door with an automatic closing device on it that is
not properly adjusted. Open and close the door several times.
What happens? Is the device adjusted so there is too much dampening
or too little dampening? What happens to the door as it finally
closes into the door jamb?
Find an ordinary screen door that is pulled closed with a simple
spring. As the door closes into the door jamb, when is it moving
fastest?
Try pumping yourself on a playground swing with a frequency
other than your natural frequency (that's difficult to do!). What
happens.
