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My students are proficient at utilizing Chromebooks for word processors and research. I would like to expand their knowledge to use the Chromebooks as part of a digital lab experience using Vernier technology. The selected materials would add to our current equipment and make one complete lab station, allowing students to perform all labs for the mechanics sections of AP physics. Students would rotate through the lab station as a part of their individual investigations. Students would also be able to perform more labs focusing on inclined planes, collisions, and circular motion problems. All of these ideas are difficult to learn without authentic hands-on experiences. Specifically, the Dynamics Cart and Track System expands on the traditional cart and track system found in most physics classes - two low-friction cars which glide on an aluminum track. In this system, students can go from traditional to high tech by adding motion detectors, force sensors, photogates and more to the track to investigate Newton's second law, acceleration on an inclined plane, momentum, and more. Angular motion units are difficult for most high school physics students. In addition, accurate data is not easy to obtain, so lab results often do not support the theories presented to students. Students can gather accurate data using force sensors and photogates attached onto the Centripetal Force Apparatus. This apparatus allows students to investigate the relationship between centripetal force, angular velocity, mass and radius. Without digital data collection, accurate data is extremely difficult for the average high school student. The lab's learning goals are generally lost as the students struggle to collect the data. Through accurate digital data collection, students would be able to focus more time on analyzing data, making conclusions, and connecting ideas.
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