An Authentic Research Project in Animal Behavior as an Introductory Physics Laboratory Exercise

Abstract

Many university and high school introductory physics courses include a laboratory portion where students follow a manual to conduct “cookbook” experiments. Here, we present an authentic research project for introductory physics students that focuses on kinematics that can be done outside a formal laboratory space. This experiment can be done in a high school or a university setting. Because it is not confined to a formal laboratory space, students can perform the experiment outside of a formal time period dedicated for labs, and over the course of a semester. This activity was developed as a part of an integrated science and mathematics program where students used their knowledge in kinematics to observe the psychology of animal behavior. Students were guided to write a research proposal for their experiment and to carry it out over a semester. The following describes the activity, experimental methods, and sample data.