Leaders: David Rakestraw
Format and Dates: One 3 Hour Session, 9/25/2021 (10:00-1:00pm EDT)
Did you know you can quantitatively determine static and kinetic friction coefficients with just a phone, table, and rubber band? Did you know you can measure displacement and velocity using the GPS in your phone or that with your phone’s gyroscope you can derive the relationship between angular velocity and centripetal acceleration? These powerful investigations will arm your students with real data that they collected and can use to make meaningful inferences about mechanics. This 3-hour workshop will introduce high school physics teachers to some powerful hands-on activities that explore core disciplinary ideas in physics (mechanics). The activities will exploit the highly sensitive and precise sensors in the smartphones which students own and use daily. Participants will need access to a smartphone and MS Excel or Google Sheets to conduct analysis.