My iOLab- and Pivot Interactives-based activities for calculus-based introductory physics

I am using iOLab, Pivot Interactives and PhET to provide lab-like activities for my fully online calculus-based introductory physics class this year. My PhET-based activities are here.

iOLab is a sensor-embedded device intended for making physical measurements in a dorm room or at home. It communicates with a student’s laptop through a USB dongle. An iOLab can be rented from Macmillan by a student for a semester for about $50, or purchased for about $200. It is pictured below with a set of jeweler’s masses and string set up for a measurement of the friction force. The jeweler’s masses can purchased from Amazon for less than $10.

Below is an example of the data display for an iOLab motion measurement made by pushing the device back and forth between the right and left hands on a table surface.

Tom Hemmick wrote a lab manual/textbook for use with the iOLab. However, I have been writing my own exercises, sometimes from ideas provided by iOLab inventor Mats Selen.

Pivot Interactives is a video and analysis tool service that costs each student $10 for a semester. Shown below is a snapshot of a Newton’s 2nd Law measurement featuring a student riding a cart propelled forward by a fire extinguisher.

I will use this page to post exercises I write for iOLab and Pivot for my class. For my first Pivot exercise this semester, I simply used the script provided by Pivot for the Ping Pong Ball Cannon, which you can find by setting up a Pivot account, logging in and then searching in the site’s library. Since then I have been using the videos and tools provided by Pivot but writing my own exercises.

I will only post an exercise after I have road-tested it with my class. The iOLab exercises and Pivot exercises are listed in the order my class has done them this semester.

I have posted pdf’s. I would be happy to provide Word versions to make them easier to modify – just contact me at my FSU email address.

iOLab Match Graph

iOLab Match GraphDownload

Pivot Dry Ice Puck on a Ramp

pivot dry ice rampDownload

iOLab Back and Forth

iOLab Back and ForthDownload

Pivot Positive and Negative Acceleration with a Turbine Glider

pivot turbine gliderDownload

Pivot Playground Ball Projectile Motion

pivot playground ball projectile motionDownload

Pivot Fire Extinguisher (Newton’s 2nd Law)

pivot-fire-extinguisherDownload

Pivot Force on a Ramp

pivot-forces-on-rampDownload

iOLab Spring Force

iolab-spring-forceDownload

iOLab Friction

iolab-frictionDownload

Pivot Circular Motion

pivot-circular-motionDownload

Pivot Height vs. Velocity (Conservation of Mechanical Energy)

pivot-height-vs-velocityDownload

Pivot Dry Ice Puck Rebound (loss of mechanical energy during a bounce)

pivot-dry-ice-puck-rebound_revisedDownload

Pivot Playground Ball 2D Energy Measurement (Conservation of Mechanical Energy)

pivot-playground-ball-2d-energyDownload

iOLab Spring Work and Energy

iolab-spring-work-and-energyDownload

Pivot Work-Energy Activity

pivot-work-energy-activityDownload

iOLab Impulse and Momentum

iolab-impulse-momentumDownload

Pivot Slap Shot (Momentum and Impulse)

pivot-slap-shotDownload

Pivot Ball Rebound (Momentum and Impulse)

pivot-ball-reboundDownload

Pivot Glider Collision

pivot-glider-collisionDownload

Pivot Measuring Torque

pivot-measuring-torqueDownload

Pivot Wheels Accelerated by Hanging Weight

pivot-wheels-accelerated-by-hanging-weightDownload

Pivot Rotational Collisions

pivot-rotational-collisionsDownload

Pendulum Lab Using Jeweler’s Masses and String

pendulum-labDownload

iOLab Spring Oscillations

iolab-spring-oscillationsDownload

Pivot Air Track Linear Oscillators and Multiple Springs

pivot-air-track-linear-oscillators-and-multiple-springsDownload

Pivot Specific Heat

pivot-specific-heatDownload

Pivot Capacitor Potential and Field

pivot-capacitor-potential-and-fieldDownload