often , a new physics faculty member is faced with the duty of renovating the introductory physics labs .
we will provide a list of experiments and equipment needed to convert about half of the traditional labs on a 1-year introductory physics lab into microcomputer - based laboratories ( mbls ) .
our student body consists mostly of science majors that take the algebra - based course .
but , the lab renovation described here could be used for the calculus - based group as well .
we would suggest adjusting the lab manuals . nowadays , mbls are usually the choice when thinking of a renovation .
they have effectively demonstrated an advantage to the learning process over the years.[14 ] moreover , for our science students , the labs are important in reinforcing the concepts learned in class .
it is very common to hear , during the lab sections , students commenting on their grasp of the concept learned in class due to the experiment being performed .
the overall 1-year lab experience follows the guidelines provided by the american association of physics teachers .
it contains a brief theoretical description and the procedures to be followed on the day of the lab . on the lab day , the students should come prepared and ready to start without additional instructions .
the instructor circles around the stations to guide and answer appropriate questions if needed . on the lab day , the students are handed the lab report .
it contains a data analysis part , some discovery questions , and ends with a summary and conclusion part . the report is completed by the student during the session .
we did not find an appropriate version for the other half to meet our overall goal .
therefore , we kept a few traditional labs . the list of experiments is chosen based on the lecture material .
one of the concerns was to always be able to cover the theory before the lab was performed by the student .
one - year introductory microcomputer - based laboratory experiment list understanding motion , free fall , projectile motion , atwood 's machine , boyle 's law , electrical equivalent of heat , heat transfer , electrostatic charge , ohm 's law , rc circuit , and magnetic induction .
a suggestion for the beginner is to try all the experiments before hand until you get really familiar with the sensors and software and how they work .
most of the time , it is a lack of understanding of the use of the apparatus , assuming it is not defective of course .
we will list here the total equipment needed per station to implement the 1-year lab described above .
it is expected that the laboratory will have a printer that can be shared among all groups .
each station consists of a laptop and the science workshop 750 interface ( ci-7650 ) with the datastudio software ( ci-6870 g ) .
lab station : science workshop interface , laptop and motion sensor sensors to be used with the interface for data measurement : motion sensor ( ci-6742a ) , photogate and pulley system ( me-6838 ) , accessory photogate ( me-9204b ) , time - of - flight accessory ( me-6810 ) , pressure sensor ( ci-6532a ) , temperature sensor ( ci6605a ) , power amplifier ( ci-6552a ) , charge sensor ( ci-6555 ) , voltage sensor ( ci-6503 ) , photogate head ( me-9498a ) .
figure 2 displays a few sensors . from left to right : pressure sensor , charge sensor , and photogate head the datastudio software collects and analyzes the data .
it has an easy - to - use interface , allowing the students to explore the data .
for instance , the left screenshot in ure 3 displays a graph of voltage versus time .
the data are collected using a voltage sensor when a magnet is dropped through a coil .
the students can select a region on the graph and the software calculates the area under the curve .
the screenshot on the right in figure 3 displays the curve - fitting feature of datastudio . left screenshot : induction lab using graph and area under the curve calculation .
the pressure column will be filled as the measurements are taken using the pressure sensor .
boyle 's law lab using a table display the additional equipment needed from pasco to perform the experiments are : picket fence ( me-9377a ) , projectile mini launcher ( me-6825a ) , photogate mounting bracket ( me-6821a ) , extension cable ( pi-8117 ) , thermodynamics kit ( ci-6514a ) , charge producers ( ci-6555 ) , faraday ice pail ( es-9057b ) , ac / dc electronics lab ( em-8656 ) , and bar magnet ( em-8620 ) .
general lab supplies needed include a pair of scissors and goggles , one digital balance  ohaus ( sp-601 ) , one meterstick , one thermometer , tongs ( handling hot bottles ) , gloves ( handle hot containers ) , braided physics string ( se-8050 ) , 500 ml glass container ( 90c water ) , banana plug cord red and black ( 5 on set ) ( se-9750 ) or ( se-975 ) , masses and hanger set ( me-8979 ) , universal table clamp ( me-9376b ) , calorimetry cups ( td-8825a ) , and hot plates ( se-8830 ) .
oftentimes , this task is hard to accomplish for a solo faculty in a small institution .
we provided here a list of the experiments and equipments needed to upgrade about half the experiments to mbls on a 1-year introductory physics lab .
we would like to add that although we used pasco , there are other comparable systems in the market .
the intention of this paper is to help others with their own lab renovation . in order to better fulfill this purpose ,
 nowadays , data acquisition software and sensors are being widely used in introductory physics laboratories . 
 this allows the student to spend more time exploring the data that is collected by the computer hence focusing more on the physical concept . 
 very often , a faculty is faced with the challenge of updating or introducing a microcomputer - based laboratory ( mbl ) at his or her institution . 
 this article will provide a list of experiments and equipment needed to convert about half of the traditional labs on a 1-year introductory physics lab into mbls . 
INTRODUCTION
LAB SETUP
EXPERIMENTS
EQUIPMENT
CONCLUSION