Experimento de queda livre construído com Arduino e operado através de uma interface SCADA

Abstract

When we analyze the reality of science teaching in Brazil we find discouraged students, who do not understand the importance of subjects for their training and their stimulus to study. This picture refers to the high number of low grades and failures. Many works attribute this scenario to the lack of experimental activities in basic education. For them, purely expository classes with theory and the application of equations do not arouse students' interest in studying. One of the obstacles to change this scenario is the lack of equipment in schools. The experimental kits available in the market have a high commercial value and their acquisition is faced with a lack of adequate resources. Faced with this scenario, several authors have suggested the construction of experiments with accessible and economically viable materials. The Arduino microcontroller has stood out in this scenario since it is an open source platform, with simple programming and vast educational material available on the internet. In addition, this device enables integration with numerous components found in shops that sell electronic equipment and even reused material from e-trash (technological waste). In this context, we present here the construction of an experiment that allows understand the free fall of bodies, measure the value of the acceleration of local gravity with uncertainty of approximately 2% and establishing the relationship between work and energy. This experiment is associated with an Arduino and operated through a SCADA interface, facilitating data collection and allowing the time available for experimental practices. Besides the construction, we also present the methodology and results obtained after use by a teacher and high school students from Alagoas. In view of the results, which indicate the use of this practice as a facilitator of the teaching/learning process, we make available a booklet with the construction of the experimental apparatus and the methodological proposal of the instrument in question.