Enhancing the introductory laboratory learning experience with smartphones

In Fall 2024 we introduced a new curriculum in our mechanics laboratory class for pre-health and pre-vet majors at Cal Poly that utilizes smartphone sensors to collect and analyze motion data. Labs were based on the Physics with Phones curriculum developed by David Rakestraw at LLNL. Students used the phyphox app to collect data and analyzed the results in spreadsheets with Excel. Each week the activities connected their experiments to life science applications that resonated with them. The two final experiments were explicit examples of physics applications to health disciplines, with an experiment examining walking gait and another that incorporated AI tools to analyze physiological tremor data. The latter is described in a paper in the April 2025 issue of The Physics Teacher. In this talk we will present our experience with the course and offer insights and guidance for others interested in innovating the lab curriculum for introductory physics.