Romanian Reports in Physics 72, 905 (2020)

INTEGRATING SMARTPHONE AND HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES

TO REAL EXPERIMENTS IN PHYSICS

MARILENA COLŢ1,2, CORINA RADU1,3, OVIDIU TOMA1,

CRISTINA MIRON1,*, VLAD-ANDREI ANTOHE1,4,*
1
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Physics, Atomiştilor Street 405, 077125 Măgurele, Romania
2
“Ion Luca Caragiale” National College, Ploieşti, Romania
3
“Alexandru Vlahuţă” Theoretical College, Bucharest, Romania
4
Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences
(IMCN), Place Croix du Sud 1, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
*
Corresponding authors: cmiron_2001@yahoo.com, vlad.antohe@fizica.unibuc.ro
Received April 23, 2020

Abstract. Given the spectacular technological developments in recent years,

teaching high school physics should be tailored to generate the competencies required
by nowadays labor market. In order to achieve the learning objectives of a modern
high school physics lessons, chalk and board are no longer adequate alternatives.
Effective teaching methods and strategies involve hands-on science activities, as well
as integrated content implemented using today’s technological developments. The real
physics experiments presented in this paper suggest a change in the way of teaching
some physics lessons by using smartphone applications (Apps): teaching the light
absorption (Beer-Lambert’s law) and Color Detect using the Phyphox App (Physical
Phone Experiment), as well as determining the acceleration in free fall circumstances
by means of Phyphox App, too. This manner of tackling a physics lesson emphasizes
the integrated content approach, as knowledge of physics, mathematics and computing
is simultaneously needed in order to confront these experiments.

Key words: Phyphox App, smartphone, physics experiments, integrated content,

physics education.

1. INTRODUCTION

Laboratory theory and practices are the two major components necessary for
students to understand the concepts of physics. In a traditional laboratory, a student
tries to reach a given goal by conducting a given experiment through collecting
measured data, calculating the relevant physical quantities with errors, graphical
representation, finding the sources of error and presenting the conclusions [1–3].
Currently, electronic devices play an important role in demonstrating the concepts
of physics, especially in laboratory classes. Thus, the modern technique of automation
and monitoring [4, 5], learning activities based on modeling [6–9] and smartphone-
aided setup [10, 11] have been proposed lately in the area of physical education
research.
Article no. 905 Marilena Colţ et al. 2

Nowadays every high school student has a smartphone. The technical

development of these devices could change the way of conducting experiments
during physics classes, bringing about new ways of extending students’ learning
skills. Thus, smartphones could have an important role in the measurements of
physical quantities due to their built-in sensors which, through a suitable application
(App), can record certain experimental data. Therefore, physics experiments can be
done not only in physics laboratories, but also at home or in the middle of nature,
by means of a smartphone [12]. Experimental data can be exported in various
formats for further analysis and post-processing with different software packages
[13, 14]. Moreover, these data can be also saved or shared through various Apps on
the intelligent phone and the experiment can be often controlled from any web
browser via an internet connection [15, 16].

2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1. LIGHT ABSORPTION

The smartphone can be used in light absorption experiments because its camera
behaves as a detector. Its light sensor measures directly the illuminance caused by
light passing through transparent or translucent samples. By using Beer-Lambert’s
law, students can determine the attenuation coefficient or absorption coefficient of
light intensity through different materials. These types of experiments are easy to
set up, without the need of other expensive devices, and therefore they could be
very useful for physics teachers in order to demonstrate light absorption [17].
Whenever light falls on a transparent or translucent object, part of it is
reflected, some other part is absorbed, and the rest of it is transmitted. Absorption
means that, passing through different optical media, light wave loses energy. This
is a selective phenomenon, depending on the wavelength of the light and on the
nature of the optical medium crossed by it. If a beam of light, incident on a
transparent or translucent object, has an initial intensity I0, after passing through the
object its intensity will become I, and would have a lower value, as schematically
shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 – Light passing through an absorber material. The full color version can be accessed
at http://www.rrp.nipne.ro.
3 Integrating smartphone and hands-on activities to real experiments in physics Article no. 905

Beer-Lambert’s law, regarding the absorption of light by a sample containing

a single attenuating species of uniform concentration, states that the amount of
light absorption is directly proportional to the concentration of the absorber and to
the distance travelled by the light through the sample. The physical quantity called
absorbance is a direct measure of how much light is absorbed by a sample.
Absorbance A is defined by the following equation and can be related with the
transmittance T of the material:
I0
A  log10   log10 T . (1)
I
According to Beer-Lambert’s law, absorbance is given by the equation:
A      c  d , (2)
where ε is the absorptivity of the absorber, meaning molar attenuation coefficient, c
is the molarity of the absorber, meaning molar concentration:
n m 1 N 1
c     , (3)
V M V NA V
and d is the distance travelled by light through the sample. In equation (3), n is the
amount of the solute (in moles), m is the mass of the substance (in g), M is the
corresponding molar mass (in g/mole), N is the number of constituent particles
present in the volume V of the solution, and NA is the Avogadro number.
We recall that for spherical waves propagating in a free space the intensity
decreases as the inverse square of the distance from the light source [18]. Due to
absorption, the intensity of plane waves will decrease as the wave passes through
the medium, but the loss of intensity will be more rapid than the standard inverse-
square law. The fraction dI / I of the intensity lost in an absorbing medium with an
infinitesimal thickness dx is proportional to dx, resulting:
dI
  dx. (4)
I
The equation is integrated in order to obtain the decrease in intensity by light
absorption in a finite thickness medium:
I x
dI
I I   0 dx (5)
0

I
ln  x (6)
I0

I  I 0  e x . (7)
Article no. 905 Marilena Colţ et al. 4

Here α is the absorption coefficient of the absorbing material (this coefficient

will depend on the wavelength of the absorbed radiation). The law expressed in (7)
represents the exponential law of absorption and is attributed to both Bouguer and
Lambert, this is why it is called the Bouguer-Lambert law. Then for an absorber
layer with thickness d the absorption coefficient will be:
1  I0 
 ln   . (8)
d  I 

2.2. FREE FALL ACCELERATION

The motion of an object in a uniform gravitational field, without any other

external influence, is a uniformly accelerated linear motion, described by the law:
at 2
y (t )  y0  v0t  (9)
2
where: y0 is the initial coordinate, v0 represents the initial velocity, a is the
acceleration and t stands for the time. If we place the origin of the Oy axis at the
point where the object is left to fall freely without initial velocity and choose the
positive vertical direction downwards, then the equation (9) becomes:
at 2
yh . (10)
2
In the case of the gravitational field, the acceleration a from equation (10)
will be replaced with the gravitational acceleration g. Then, knowing the height
from which the object falls (h) and measuring the time (t) of falling [19], the
acceleration g due to the gravity can be obtained using the equation:
2h
g . (11)
t2

3. EXPERIMENTAL SETTINGS AND METHODS

3.1. BEER-LAMBERT’S LAW STUDY USING SMARTPHONE

This is a colorimetry experiment (see Fig. 2), correlating the concentration of

a solution with the absorbance of a monochromatic light. Due to the fact that every
component of a solution has an absorptivity related to a specific wavelength, this
method can be used for the analysis of a mixture suspension, as well as for blood
analysis or for food composition analysis.
Surrounding light reflected by a green paper passes through a recipient
containing a solution of water (Fig. 2a) and red ink (Fig. 2b). Using the Color
5 Integrating smartphone and hands-on activities to real experiments in physics Article no. 905

Detector App from Google Play, values for light intensity passing through different
solution concentrations (Fig. 2c) are recorded. Surrounding temperature, light
intensity and water temperature were kept constant, as well as the position of the
container and the position of the smartphone with respect to the container.

Fig. 2 – Experimental set up used for the study of Beer-Lambert’s law: a) plain water in a transparent
container and green colored paper on the wall; b) a bottle of red ink; c) a mixture of water and red ink,
as well as the green colored paper on the wall. The full color version can be accessed at
http://www.rrp.nipne.ro.

The container was filled with Vwater = 300 ml of water. The first reading of G
value corresponded to I0 value of the light intensity, meaning no light attenuation
by the red ink. Then students added V0 = 5 ml of red ink at every reading of G
value. Molar concentration means moles of solute per liter of solution. For the
second measurement the molar concentration of red ink was:
n0 N0 n0
c1    , (12)
Vwater  V0 N A Vwater  V0   V 
Vwater  1  0 
 Vwater 
where n0 is the number of moles in V0 = 5 ml of red ink:
n0
V0  Vwater  c1  . (13)
Vwater
For the kth measurement the molar concentration of red ink was:

ck 
 k  1 N 0   k  1 n0 
 k  1 n0   k  1 c1.
N A  Vwater  V0   V  Vwater
V 1 0
water  
 Vwater 
ck   k  1 c1 ; k  1, 8 . (14)
Article no. 905 Marilena Colţ et al. 6

Going further and taking into account equation (1), the values of an RGB
color indicate its red, green and blue intensity. Each intensity value is on a scale
from 0 to 255 in RGB decimal code [20]. The intensity corresponding to green
light passing through water without red ink, expressed in RGB decimal code is
I0 = 195 (as shown in Table 1, this value is similar with the average value of 196.2
obtained for the first set of measurements, without the red ink in the water). All the
other G values in Table 1 correspond to the intensity of green light passing through
water containing different concentrations of red ink.

Table 1
Experimental data for Absorbance determination
Number of Molar G values Average
Absorbance
readings concentration value of
k G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G A
ck = (k – 1) c1
1 0 · c1 191 196 200 195 199 196.2 0
2 1 · c1 147 151 152 148 151 149.8 0.117187
3 2 · c1 139 146 147 144 148 144.8 0.131930
4 3 · c1 134 146 147 144 148 143.8 0.134940
5 4 · c1 134 135 136 134 139 135.6 0.160439
6 5 · c1 124 125 126 126 128 125.8 0.193018
7 6 · c1 123 125 119 122 124 122.6 0.204209
8 7 · c1 120 118 114 123 114 117.8 0.221554
9 8 · c1 118 115 115 114 114 115.2 0.231247
10 9 · c1 118 109 114 111 115 113.4 0.238086
11 10 · c1 111 112 113 113 115 112.8 0.240390

0.26
Experimental verification of Beer-Lambert's law
0.24
Linear regression using y = 0.0153 x + 0.103
Slope: d= 0.0153 m
0.22

0.20
Absorbance

0.18

0.16

0.14

0.12

0.10
0 2 4 6 8 10
Molar concentration [multiple numbers of c1]

Fig. 3 – Absorption – molar concentration graph. The full color version can be accessed
at http://www.rrp.nipne.ro.

According to equation (14), the molar concentration of ink in water can be

expressed as an integer multiple of the concentration c1 therefore on abscissa are
7 Integrating smartphone and hands-on activities to real experiments in physics Article no. 905

these integer multiples of c1 (see Fig. 3). As can be noticed, the plot in Fig. 3
perfectly verifies the Beer-Lambert’s law given by equation (2), where the slope of
the linear regression represents ε · d.

3.2. BOUGUER-LAMBERT’S LAW STUDY USING PHYPHOX APP

This study involves the experimental measurement of the attenuation coefficient

of light passing through some Himalayan salt slides and the demonstration of Bouguer-
Lambert’s Law. The readings were taken using the smartphone App called Phyphox
[16]. This App has a module named Light, that works based on the light sensor
incorporated in smartphones and plots an illuminance versus time graph.
The experimental equipment consists of a light source, salt plates of known
thicknesses, a ruler tape measure, a smartphone and a laptop. As a light source we
employed the LEDs of a flashlight. They emit light in a narrow band of wavelengths
[21]. As absorbent material, six Himalayan salt plates were used for the experiment.
Their thicknesses varied from approximately one centimeter to five centimeters, as
shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 – Experimental set up used for the study of Bouguer-Lambert’s law.

The full color version can be accessed at http://www.rrp.nipne.ro.

In order to determine the intensity of the light emitted by the source, the
smartphone was placed directly in front of the LEDs, at r = 2 cm distance. The
magnitude of illuminance indicated by the light sensor of the smartphone was
E = 1041 lx. The mathematical relationship between illumination of a surface and
light intensity of a source is:
I
E , (15)
r2
which is derived from Lambert’s cosine law of photometry applied for the case of
normal incidence. By using equation (15) the light intensity emitted by the source
I0 = 0.416 cd was determined (see the acquired data in Table 2). Salt plates of
different thicknesses were placed in turn between the light source and the smartphone,
Article no. 905 Marilena Colţ et al. 8

forming a centered optical system. The Phyphox App recorded the magnitude of
illuminance after the light passed through the salt plates (see Fig. 5).

Table 2
Experimental data for the study of Bouguer-Lambert’s Law via Phyphox
Luminous intensity
Number Thickness of Illuminance Luminous intensity
of light transmitted
of salt plate given directly of light emitted by
through salt plates
readings d [m] by LEDs [lx] LEDs I0 [cd]
I [cd]
1 0.009 0.1149
2 0.012 0.0748
3 0.022 0.0179
1041 0.416
4 0.033 0.0037
5 0.047 0.0005
6 0.050 0.0003
The values of illuminations indicated by the smartphone sensor are taken
from the graph using the “Pick data” button, for each thickness of the salt plates.
According to equation (8), the mean value of the absorption coefficient for the
Himalayan salt is α = 143.06 m–1.

Fig. 5 – Smartphone screen shot of illuminance (time graph for one salt plate). The full color version
can be accessed at http://www.rrp.nipne.ro.

Considering that the magnitude of the average absorption coefficient of light

passing through Himalayan salt is known, the Bouguer-Lambert’s law, given by
equation (7) was verified (see Fig. 6).
9 Integrating smartphone and hands-on activities to real experiments in physics Article no. 905

0.12 Experimental verification of Bouguer-Lambert's law

(exponential law of absorbtion)
Intensity of transmitted light [cd] 0.10 Exponential regression y = y0+A1exp(-x/A2)
-1
Absorption coefficient = 1/A2 = 143.06 m
0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0.00

0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05

Thickness of salt plate [m]
Fig. 6 – Experimental verification of Bouguer-Lambert’s Law I = f (d). The full color version
can be accessed at http://www.rrp.nipne.ro.

3.3. MEASUREMENT OF THE GRAVITATIONAL ACCELERATION

This experiment was performed using the “Acoustic stopwatch” Phyphox App,
that could measure and record the time taken between two very short acoustic signals.

Fig. 7 – Experimental set up used for the study of free fall acceleration.
The full color version can be accessed at http://www.rrp.nipne.ro.

The employed experimental setup contained: a small and heavy object, a support
on which the object was placed at different heights from the floor, a ruler tape measure,
few balloons (their number was equal to the number of heights at which the body was
Article no. 905 Marilena Colţ et al. 10

placed), a needle, a metal plate and a smartphone (see Fig. 7). The snap of the balloon
when stung with the needle triggered the start of the free fall of the object and, in the
same time, the start of the “Acoustic stopwatch” App recording time. The noise of the
object hitting the metal plate placed on the floor triggered the stop of time recording.
The threshold of sound intensity was changed from the “Acoustic stopwatch” App
menu so that the trigger noise of starting and stopping time, respectively, recorded by
the Phyphox App would be located above the background noise. Also, a minimum
delay was set so that the reverberation or echo would not be taken into account,
avoiding measurement errors and improving accuracy.
The object was placed at different heights from the ground, from ten to ten
centimeters, the maximum value being 2.4 m and the minimum value being 0.3 m.
After recording the time taken by the object to fall free and to reach the floor, the
experimental data (see Table 3) registered on the smartphone were exported for
further analysis.
Table 3
Experimental data for determining acceleration of free fall

No. h [m] t [s] g [m/s2] gaverage [m/s2] Δg [m/s2]

1 2.40 0.697 9.8260 0.0100
2 2.30 0.684 9.8310 0.015
3 2.20 0.670 9.8080 –0.008
4 2.10 0.654 9.8170 0.001
5 2.00 0.639 9.7990 –0.017
6 1.90 0.622 9.8120 –0.004
7 1.80 0.605 9.8350 0.019
8 1.70 0.590 9.7680 –0.048
9 1.60 0.571 9.8150 –0.001
10 1.50 0.554 9.7900 –0.026
11 1.40 0.532 9.8760 0.060
9.8156
12 1.30 0.515 9.8220 0.006
13 1.20 0.496 9.7730 –0.043
14 1.10 0.473 9.8180 0.002
15 1.00 0.452 9.8110 –0.005
16 0.90 0.427 9.8540 0.038
17 0.80 0.403 9.8330 0.017
18 0.70 0.378 9.7870 –0.029
19 0.60 0.349 9.8320 0.016
20 0.50 0.319 9.8160 0.000
21 0.40 0.286 9.7880 –0.028
22 0.30 0.247 9.8320 0.016

With the collected data from Table 3, the students could plot the height-time
graph of the free fall of the object, as seen in Fig. 8. According to equation (10),
the height measured with respect to the start point of free falling is:
gt 2
yh . (16)
2
11 Integrating smartphone and hands-on activities to real experiments in physics Article no. 905

Then, one can also notice that the shape of the graph is similar to the shape of
the parabola function already learned at math classes.

2.5
h = (g/2) x t2
2.0

1.5
h [m]

1.0

0.5

0.0
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
t [s]
Fig. 8 – The height as a function of free-falling time. The full color version can be accessed
at http://www.rrp.nipne.ro.

On the other hand, plotting the height as a function of square of time we can
obtain a straight line having the slope g/2. Then, from the slope of this line (see
Fig. 9), the value of the gravitational acceleration is g = 4.913 · 2 = 9.826 m/s2, in a
very good agreement with the value presented in Table 3.

2.5
Linear regression:
h = 4.913 x t2 = (g/2) x t2
2.0

1.5
h [m]

1.0

0.5

0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
2 2
t [s ]
Fig. 9 – The height as a function of the square of time. The full color version can be accessed
at http://www.rrp.nipne.ro.
Article no. 905 Marilena Colţ et al. 12

4. CONCLUSIONS

The experiments presented in this paper can be accomplished in a relatively

short period of time, with simple experimental settings as “in-hand” resources.
Firstly, both Beer-Lambert law and Bouguer-Lambert law were experimentally
verified, including determination of absorption coefficient of the absorbing material.
Secondly, the experimental values obtained for the gravitational acceleration of
a free fall object was very close to the theoretical one (within the limits of the
experimental errors). By running the three experiments, the students are encouraged
to use an integrated content approach of problem solving, because they had to employ
their knowledge of physics, chemistry, mathematics and their IT proficiency for
making measurements with their smartphones and for plotting graphs. Thus, by using
intelligent mobile phones during physics classes, students carried out inquiry-based
experiments, that developed key competences necessary for lifelong learning:
mathematical proficiency, aptitudes in science and technology, digital abilities,
learning to learn skill, social competences, sense of initiative and entrepreneurship [22].

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