Smartphones in the teaching of Physics Laws: Projectile motion| El teléfono inteligente en la enseñanza de las Leyes de la Física: movimiento de proyectiles.|

Abstract

New technologies are called upon to play an important role as beneficial tools for meaningful learning in the classroom. In particular, smartphones can be regarded as pocket computers that, in addition to a remarkable memory and computing capacity, incorporate sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, light sensors, etc., which turn them into easily available measurement instruments for practical classes in an educational environment. In this study, the suitability of these devices for demonstrating Classical Mechanics, minimizing the use of resources and class time, has been assessed in two real classrooms (with 16 to 19 year-old students) by conducting experiments related to projectile motion (vertical free fall and parabolic motion). A simple methodology that only involves a mobile phone, a free burst camera application and open-source tools (GIMP and OpenOffice Calc) for data processing is presented. The results obtained in non-perfected conditions led to an estimate of the acceleration of gravity with an error lower than 2%. Further analyses and alternative procedures are also suggested in the discussion section. No major difficulties were encountered with the high school students or with the first year university ones, and a high degree of satisfaction was found. Resumen Las nuevas tecnologías están llamadas a jugar un papel importante como herramientas beneficiosas para el aprendizaje significativo en el aula. En particular, los teléfonos inteligentes son verdaderos ordenadores de bolsillo que, además de una notable capacidad de memoria y de cómputo, incorporan sensores como acelerómetros, giroscopios, magnetómetros, sensores de luz, etc. que los convierten en instrumentos de medida fácilmente disponibles para prácticas en un entorno educativo. En el presente estudio, la idoneidad de estos dispositivos para explicar conceptos de Mecánica Clásica, minimizando el uso de recursos y tiempo de