The teaching of mechanics and motion in introductory physics has produced disappointing results that imply that most students leave the course with only a primitive understanding of the motion of objects. In this project, recently developed video technology is used in an inquiry-based, laboratory-lecture format to improve students' learning of the fundamental ideas of Newtonian mechanics. The students record the trajectory of an object with a low-cost video camera, digitize and record the data on a computer, and then analyze the observed motion frame-by-frame to discover the features of the observed phenomenon. This procedure directly confronts students' preconceptions about motion; measure the same quantities that are used to describe motion in the classroom, such as the time-dependent position of a projectile; and make new and challenging phenomena accessible in the introductory physics laboratory. Before now, the methods employed in this project were too costly to allow students to collect and analyze their own data in an introductory physics laboratory. In addition, the method is flexible and easy to use, an essential practical ingredient in an inquiry-based laboratory. The audience targeted in this project is all students who take introductory physics. These students are from all scientific disciplines (physics to sport science) and from all classes (first year to seniors). The project implements the use of these video technologies in an environment where the students are involved in both recording the video and analyzing it. The students can investigate a variety of phenomena that because of technical or cost barriers cannot be addressed in the traditional undergraduate laboratory.
