Teaching & Learning with Smartphones
Teaching & Learning with Smartphones
Quick Lab Ideas:
Speed, force, smartphones, and elevators
Speed is measured relative to another object, and it is notoriously difficult to measure without an external reference (dead reckoning). Force is measured relative to its frame of reference. Presented here are two activities that can help students dig deeper into the complexities associated with measuring them. Look forward to an upcoming blog about these two activities.
Speed in an Elevator Ride
Read this article by Martin Monteiro and Arturo Marti of Uruguay about using the smartphone's pressure sensor to measure changes in pressure with respect to time (and thereby calculate speed).
Watch this video by Stefano Macchia of Italy showing how students can derive the relationship between the depth of an object in a fluid and the pressure (which can also be done for air, a less dense fluid).
Forces in an Elevator Ride
Watch a video by Patrick Weng of China showing the changes in g-Force on a smartphone in an elevator.
Alternatively, you can use the the accelerometer mode, accompanied by this worksheet that I used with my own physics students.
Physics Toolbox & SXSWEdu
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Another Quick Lab Idea
Candy Science
One of our users, Taoufik Nadji, was introduced to our apps by his students for use during a color by reflection lab with colored candies under monochromatic light. Get the lab, "Candy Science," from the American Association of Physics Teachers K-12 Portal, and give it a try with the Color Gen mode on Physics Toolbox Suite!
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