A concept for undergraduate mechanics courses at universities is introduced
where traditional pencil-paper based exercises are partially replaced by
experimental exercises, in which smartphones are used as measurement
devices. A detailed guidance for practical realization and implementation of
these tasks formats into the course is presented. Three smartphone-based
experimental exercises ‘The tilting smartphone’, ‘The oscillation balance’
and ‘Using the Smartphone in a Torsion Pendulum’ are presented. First
empirical results with respect to the learning achievement indicate a mid size
effect on the understanding of the physical concepts. Compared to the
traditional pencil-paper based exercises, the students performance in the
experimental exercises is slightly lower, although the motivation to solve
these tasks is higher
