Léon Foucault

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/l-on-foucault

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Léon Foucault born?September 18, 1819
2. When did Léon Foucault die?February 11, 1868 (age 48)
3. Where was Léon Foucault born?Paris, France
4. What is the career?Physicist, astronomer, inventor
5. What did Léon Foucault prove with his pendulum?He showed that the Earth spins by letting a heavy pendulum swing. The swing plane stays fixed in space, so it looks like it moves as the Earth turns.
6. How does the Foucault pendulum work?A big bob hangs from a long wire and swings freely. Its swing plane stays fixed relative to the stars, but because the Earth rotates, it appears to slowly turn.