Review by Debbie Gorrell, Common Sense Education | Updated August 2014
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Apparatus

Get it now
  • Download on Google Play

Without conceptual background, this physics puzzler could frustrate

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • Science
Skills
  • Critical Thinking
Grades This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.
6–12
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (2 Reviews)
Privacy rating (How we rate)
Not yet rated
Price:  $.99
Platforms:  Android

Take a look inside

4 images
Kids move and connect planks to get a marble into a box.
Build compound machines using planks, wheels, wires, and batteries.
Drag and rotate movable wooden planks around immovable parts.
A wooden platform allows the marble to bounce upward and into the box.

Pros: Kids who like to build and test machines will be motivated to learn through trial and error.

Cons: Help and hints are minimal, which could cause frustration. Lacks background physics and engineering content.

Bottom Line: Most kids will need prior understanding of basic engineering and physics principles to enjoy this typical physics-based puzzler.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

It could be fun to use the challenge mode of Apparatus as an opening activity at the start of the school year or prior to a physics-based unit. Have kids work in small groups to complete each challenge. Regroup as a class after the first few challenges and discuss group results and strategies. Use this as a way to introduce and discuss such concepts as unbalanced forces, gravity, and simple and compound machines. The more advanced levels are great for older kids. Finish the unit with the sandbox mode: Have kids work in groups to build the most creative machine. Kids can then share their creations with classmates or with the open community, but teachers should be sure to closely monitor that forum.

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Standards:

The goal of Apparatus is to get one or more marbles into a box by using movable wooden planks and immovable metal bars. Additional objects -- including batteries, wheels, and a hammer or wrench to attach pieces of wood -- come into play as the game progresses. Success is heavily based on using such physics concepts as gravity, momentum, and unbalanced forces. Luckily, kids aren't penalized for trying again and again until they succeed. There's also a sandbox mode where kids create their own puzzles and share them with an open community. 

Kids can learn to apply principles of physics to build machines. They also learn to solve problems through trial and error, which is an extremely important lesson in science. Using such concepts as unbalanced forces, momentum, and gravity to get a marble into a box is an effective learning strategy. Even better is kids' ability to watch their machines in action, and to learn from failed attempts. The game doesn't guide or instruct kids with regard to physics and engineering principles, however. This means kids with no background in these disciplines could either succeed randomly and not understand what they're doing, or fail repeatedly and become frustrated. The game can be a fun way to practice mechanics, but teachers will need to do a lot of legwork first. 

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Engagement could be hit or miss. Kids who have a knack for building machines will enjoy the challenges. Others will likely be frustrated by the lack of hints and help.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

The puzzles challenge kids to apply principles of physics and engineering to solve problems, but there's a gap between gameplay and instruction-based learning.   

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

Tutorials, help, and hints aren't well integrated. While players can upload their creations to an open community, occasional iffy content might be a turn-off.

Common Sense Reviewer
Debbie Gorrell Educator
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Reading Science/Technical

  • RST.6-8.3

    Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.

  • RST.9-10.3

    Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text.

  • RST.11-12.3

    Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks; analyze the specific results based on explanations in the text.

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Teacher Reviews

(See all 2 reviews) (2 reviews) Write a review
Featured review by
Melanie G. , Media specialist/librarian
Media specialist/librarian
Forestbrook Middle School
Myrtle Beach, United States
Aggravating app that doesn't live up to the hype
I wanted to purchase and review this app because I thought that it would be a good tool to increase depth of knowledge and practice for advanced learners and those in the programming/robotics club that I manage. Instead it was a struggle to get students to use more than once and when they did attempt to use the tool, it was a lesson in patience. The help feature is not integrated well and therefore is less than helpful. I would not recommend this product.
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