ABSTRACT
Annotation. In Chapter 8 several well-known and recently discovered counterin-
tuitive regular and chaotic modes of the sinusoidally driven rigid planar pendulum
are discussed and illustrated by computer simulations. The software supporting
the investigation offers many interesting predefined examples that demonstrate
various peculiarities of this famous physical model. Plausible physical explana-
tions are suggested for some exotic and unexpected motions. The simulation pro-
gram can also serve as an exploration-oriented tool for discovering new features of
the driven pendulum and gives students an opportunity to perform mini-research
projects on their own.
