Smartphone spectrometers

Kahl (Chapter 5) reports a project-based experiment where students compare a simple smartphone spectrophotometer to a traditional one. After comparing results of water quality tests, students use an engineering approaeh to generate different designs to improve the smartphone spectrometer. 

Smartphone Spectrometers The Intersection of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering... 

The redesign activity resulted a series of student schematics, alorrg with an extension activity discussing commtmity or crowdsottreed data in class. Studerrts proposed many differences between the paper and traditiorral spectrometer. It was frequently noted that the traditional spectrometer is bulky and impractical for transport, while the smartphone spectrometer is small and portable. 

Students answered these questiorrs both orally and in the written form of a laboratory reflection. It was foitrrd that the sntaitphone spectrometers performed as well as the traditiorral spectrometers within a reasorrable margin of error (10-15%). In the field, the smartphone devices were more portable and easier to use than the traditional spectrometers. Students critically evaluated the two irrstruments with regards to performance, ease of use and portability in their laboratory reflectiorrs. They were also required to redesign the smartphone spectrophotometer and present their design to the class. 

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