Elevator Forces Lab

Open Source Physics Singapore

Über diese App

Elevator Forces Lab turns your Android phone into a pocket physics investigation for Newtonian mechanics.

Use the phone accelerometer or the built-in manual acceleration control to study how normal force, weight, apparent weight, and weighing-scale readings change inside an accelerating lift. The app shows a static lift model with live force arrows, numerical readings, a graph, adaptive hints, and auto-marked questions for classroom or self-study use.

Designed for secondary and junior college physics, the activity helps learners understand why a weighing scale reads heavier, lighter, or normal depending on the lift acceleration. Students can compare real phone sensor observations with the idealised simulation model and practise calculations using N = m(g + a).

Key features:

- Phone accelerometer mode for real lift observations
- Manual acceleration slider for classroom demonstration
- Live normal force, weight, and scale-reading visualization
- Auto-marked conceptual and numerical questions
- Adaptive hints and simpler scaffold questions
- Teacher-visible activity log
- data-friendly learning evidence when launched from a compatible platform
- Downloadable lesson, handout, and answer key resources

This app is useful for physics teachers, students, and parents who want a focused tool for learning apparent weight and Newton's Second Law in lifts.

Neuerungen

Initial release of Elevator Forces Lab.

Includes a phone accelerometer lift investigation, manual acceleration mode, live force arrows, weighing-scale readings, auto-marked practice questions, adaptive hints, xAPI/SLS-compatible learning evidence, and downloadable classroom resources.