Author: Edgar Allen Poe
Publisher/Date: VINTAGE BOOK, 1975
ISBN: 0-394-71678-7
Grade Levels Recommended for Use: 9-12
Brief Summary: This story takes place during the French Inquisition. A prisoner is being tortured with the dual threats of a swinging blade that is lowered slightly with each swing, or a nearly bottomless pit.
Topics: problem solving; T table; graphing; prediction; modeling; pendulums
Suggested Activities:
In the story, the prisoner is tied under a swinging blade. He estimates the pendulum to be 30 feet above him and that it will take about 12 more swings before it begins to slice his body.
Pose the question: Does the
prisoner have enough time to escape?
Students should discuss the variables of the problem and devise an experiment to determine which variables make a difference. Most will devise a pendulum from string and a weight and use a stopwatch to time the periods. Altering the length of the string and the amount of weight can produce data on a T-table that can then be graphed. This problem blends algebra, geometry, and statistics as well as problem solving.
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