Roles:

Each member of the group will collect the same amount of data. We will each analyze 7 Apple Brand laptops. The laptops we examine will be MacBooks, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs from 2008 onward. We will then all work together to analyze the collected data through the use of graphs. From our analysis we will collectively write a conclusion explaining our results.

List of Equipment and Supplies:

• WattsUp? Pro (3)

• Apple Laptops (21)

Science and Technology:

Through the use of the WattsUp? Pro, we will determine the the power usage of different laptops using different brightness configurations. Since power=energy/time, we will determine how much energy the laptops use of a period of one hour by using the WattsUp? Pro’s energy measuring capabilities. This information is extremely applicable to daily life because it can be used to calculate how much it will cost to run a laptop on different brightness levels, as well as how rapidly the laptop’s battery will be exhausted based on its brightness. This can help users decide how much battery they can actually save by lowering brightness and adjust the brightness levels to their needs.

Activity Plan:

The first part of our project will be to collect the data about the laptops’ screen brightness. Each member of the group will collect the same amount of data using the WattsUp? Pro. We will each record the power usage of Apple Laptops, including MacBook Pros and Airs of different models, at approximately 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% brightness and then combine our data into one aggregate. We will collect our data during the week of 9/23-9/28, and then meet the following week (9/30-10/5) to combine and analyze our data. We will finalize our project and draw conclusions from our analysis during the week of 10/7.

Expected Outcomes:

We expect that lowering the brightness of the screen will significantly decrease the battery consumption on every laptop that we test. We anticipate that lowering the brightness will decrease battery consumption at a consistent ratio.