From knowing when to plant certain crops to designing fundamental tests of gravity, keeping a precise measure of time has far-reaching impacts on life as we know it. In this activity, students will explore how to keep time and what makes a ‘good’ clock, and use simple materials to design, build, and evaluate their own clocks.
Recommended age
This activity is recommended for high school students. It can also be adapted for older elementary and middle school age students.
Estimated time
This activity takes approximately 2 hours to complete, or can be split between two 50-minute class periods.
Pre-requisites
Basic knowledge of clocks and time is required. Slides in the Teacher Facing Materials should be presented before the activity.
Learning goals
- List three activities or technologies that require time-keeping.
- Describe the role that repetition plays in keeping track of time.
- List three qualities that make a ‘good’ clock.
- Organize the 5 different types of clocks in order of increasing stability.
- Calculate the stability of a clock, and compare it to other clocks.
- Explain how atomic clocks work.
More resources
- Ultra-precise Atomic Clocks at UW–Madison
- Joint Quantum Institute Podcast – Ancient timekeeping with a modern twist
- DIY Mechanical Clock Kits