In this work, we propose an interesting combination of the Atwood machine and Galileo’s inclined plane to study quantitatively kinematics with a smartphone and the phyphox app. For this purpose, we use the optical stopwatch function, based on the photosensor of the smartphone. The choice of phyphox app has some advantages for presenting the concepts of kinematics to lower high school students, as it directly and wirelessly provides analysed data to the screen of a laptop or a desktop computer. Thus, eliminating the need to export the raw data and necessitating the demanding step of data processing by the young pupils.
A common method that scientists use to validate a theory is to utilize known principles and laws to produce results on specific settings, which can be assessed using the appropriate experimental methods and apparatuses. Smartphones have various sensors built-in and could be used for measuring and logging data in physics experiments. In this work, we propose the use of smartphones for students to study a simple pendulum's conservation of mechanical energy. It is well known that common smartphones do not have a velocity sensor, which could make the verification of the conservation of mechanical energy a simpler task. To overcome this, one can use an accelerometer to measure the centripetal acceleration on the mass and from that, deduce the maximum velocity. In this study, we show that this can be achieved with reasonable uncertainty, using a mobile device. Thus, we developed an experiment which corroborates with the conservation of mechanical energy and can be performed in the classroom.
In this work we present two teaching modules, based on the combination of Scratchboard and Scratch, to be used for the study of materials' thermal properties such as thermal conductivity and heat capacity. These properties are very important for the understanding of many applications. In the design of the modules we have taken into account two scenarios, one for elementary and secondary school students and one for high school students. This determines not only the type of measurement and the analysis of the data but also the Scratch interface. The main emphasis for the lower grades is placed on the introduction of the concepts and a demonstration of the differences of the properties of different materials, while for the upper grades for making accurate measurements through inquiry based projects. Both modules have been implemented in a high school laboratory, providing reliable measurements and engaging the students in a higher level than usually.
Many educators have utilized the phenomenon of the so-called “hydrostatic paradox” to actively engage students in classroom instructional activities related to hydrostatic equilibrium.1 Various approaches requiring different levels of mathematical knowledge have been proposed in the literature to provide students clear explanations of this paradox.2 However, these attempts take for granted that students have already been taught and have internalized the concepts of force and pressure. The hydrostatic paradox is then usually introduced as an application problem for the evaluation of the knowledge acquired.
Due to the conditions imposed worldwide by the pandemic, students’ access to school laboratories is limited, if not impossible. To provide students with raw experimental data to assess, analyse and reason out, we have filmed experiments that can be used in a flipped classroom. This paper presents an experiment which makes use of an array of six photogate timers track the trajectory of a cart. The students are provided at home with different parts of the video, they process the data and make predictions. During the synchronous distance learning, they present their predictions, compare them with the measured values and discuss their conclusions. In this way, they encounter the predictive power of physics’ laws of motion, address the reliability of their conclusions as a function of the quality and sample size of the experimental data.
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