High School

This lesson makes use of Voyager to measure both distance and magnetic field strength.  Distance is measured by Voyager’s rangefinder, and magnetic field strength is measured by Voyager’s magnetometer.  Data is plotted in real-time using Phyphox software.  The advantage of Phyphox over the PocketLab app is that it can directly plot magnetic field strength versus distance and can export this data without reference to the time variable.

Amusement parks provide an authentic opportunity to conduct real science and apply physics and math concepts in real-world situations.  While visiting an amusement park, not only will you have a fun-filled day of riding rides, but you will get to apply what you have learned about estimation, measurement, motion, forces, gravity, energy, and systems.

In the study of collisions between two carts, it is desirable to collect position data for both carts.  This can be done with a pair of Voyagers, each connected to separate devices running the PocketLab app. Starting data collection on both Voyagers by simultaneously clicking data recording on both PocketLab apps is difficult.  One cannot view the data on a single device in real time, and analysis of data requires combining data from two separate devices.

It would be nice if one could connect two (or more!) Voyagers to the same device—say to an Android device or an iOS device running an app that could display concurrent data collection from both Voyagers.  Such a capability is possible by the use of Phyphox (physical phone experiments), an app developed at the 2nd Institute of Physics of the RWTH Aachen University in Germany.  The author of this lesson has been working with a pre-release Android version of this app that supports BLE (Bluet

Let's create a game in Scratch that is controlled by a wireless controller using the PocketLab accelerometer. PocketLab can connect directly and wirelessly to Scratch, and can send sensor data in real time. This game uses the PocketLab accelerometer to move sprites around the screen.

This program is for intermediate or advanced Scratch users, and if you would like a simpler starting point to get started with connecting Scratch to the outside world through PocketLab, you can start here:

This project will get your physical science/physics students involved in a number of Next Generation Science Standards, particularly in the NGSS science and engineering practices.  This investigation provides a nice opportunity for the students to (1) suggest hypotheses, (2) design an experiment to test their hypotheses, (3) analyze and interpret their data, and (4) use principles of physics to explain their observations quantitatively.

Gears date back many centuries and are extremely useful since they can change the direction imposed by a source of power, as well as torque and speed.  This lesson describes an experimental study of the relationship between gear ratio and angular velocity by using PocketLab Voyager and Wonder Gears.    Wonder Gears is listed for ages 3+, with this lesson heavily emphasizing the “+” part of the description—since this lesson is perfect for junior high students aged 12 through 14.  This is one of the many advantages of Po