Sparkfun Electronics Inventor's Kit Manual page 73

Not only can an accelerometer measure the raw forces pulling on the chip and the object that the
chip is sitting on, but it can also detect steps, shakes and other motions that have a specific pattern.
On top of that, you can use an accelerometer to simply detect the orientation that the device is in.
Did you ever wonder how your phone knows when you turn it from portrait to landscape? It is all
because of the accelerometer in your phone!
Hardware Hookup
Ready to start hooking everything up? Check out the wiring diagram below to see how everything is
connected.
Polarized Pay special attention to the component's markings indicating how to place it on
Components the breadboard. Polarized components can only be connected to a circuit in one
direction.