Measurement of spring constants of various spring-mass systems by using smartphones: a teaching proposal

This study aims to develop a teaching proposal to measure spring constants of various spring-mass systems by means of the smartphones. Specifically, a single spring-mass system, a serial connected and a parallel connected spring systems are experi-mentally resolved, by using the ambient light sensor...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mustafa Erol, Kadir Hocaoğlu, Şeyda Kaya
Format: Article
Language:Indonesian
Published: Universitas Kanjuruhan Malang 2020-04-01
Series:Momentum: Physics Education Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ejournal.unikama.ac.id/index.php/momentum/article/view/4150
Description
Summary:This study aims to develop a teaching proposal to measure spring constants of various spring-mass systems by means of the smartphones. Specifically, a single spring-mass system, a serial connected and a parallel connected spring systems are experi-mentally resolved, by using the ambient light sensor of the smartphones. The measurements are achieved by simply recording the light intensity, detected by the oscillating smartphone, as a function of time for the simple harmonic motion. Using the light intensity-time graphs, the average periods and eventually the spring constants are estimated and the outcomes are compared with the theoretical results. The overall outcomes of the work indicate some 3,3 % relative error for the serial connected springs and 10,8 % relative error for the parallel connected springs. The approach is important in the sense that the apparatus directly plots instantaneous momentum-time graphs and it creates an enjoyable and beneficial teaching atmosphere.
ISSN:2548-9127
2548-9135