Intent These activities use an excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Pit and the Pendulum” to pose the unit problem. Students conduct some initial exploration into the unit problem and then explore related activities that build a foundation for subsequent ideas in the unit.

Mathematics To solve the unit problem, students have to identify the variable that affects the period of a pendulum, gather data using controlled experiments, find a function that fits these data, and then use the function to make a prediction. In Edgar Allen Poe—Master of Suspense, the focus is on identifying candidates for variables and learning important ideas about doing controlled experiments and measuring quantities. In particular, students will display data collected from a series of experiments and use these displays to come to understand the idea of measurement variation.

Progression The unit begins with students reading excerpts from Poe’s story, building a pendulum, and stating the unit problem. Then they do three different data-gathering and analyzing activities. In addition, students complete the first POW of the unit and start work on the second one. The Pit and the Pendulum The Question POW 9: The Big Knight Switch Building a Pendulum Initial Experiments Close to the Law If I Could Do It Over Again Time Is Relative What’s Your Stride? Pulse Gathering Pulse Analysis POW 10: Corey Camel Return to the Pit