Cell Phone Physics

In Meta’s reliability labs, tracking movement is important. Everyday I collect data from an accelerometer that has been placed in a vehicle or on a device. I was surprised to find that so much of that data can be tracked through applications on my cell phone! This is fortunate because it means that my students will be able to use the same tools that I do here. Students will make a hypothesis about the location of the accelerometer in their cell phone and will conduct a series of experiments to determine if they are correct. Students will be able to conclude the location of the accelerometer and make inferences about the importance of its location. This investigation will require collaboration and accurate data collection. It will push students to draw inferences based on data and surprise them with its real world application.