Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.
Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart.
Change the sample rate of the Smart Cart Position and Force sensors to 40 Hz.
Make a graph of Force vs. Position and another graph of Velocity vs. Time.
Install the hook on the Smart Cart’s force sensor. Without anything touching the force sensor, zero the force sensor in the software.
Put a rubber band on the force sensor hook. Start recording and while one person holds the rubber band in place, the other person slowly pulls the cart back, stretching the rubber band. Then hold the cart in place with the rubber band stretched and stop recording. Do not let go of the cart or rubber band.
Start recording again. Let go of the cart and move the hand holding the rubber band out of the way. Let the cart go up to its maximum speed and then stop recording.
Analysis
Determine the work done in stretching the rubber band by finding the area under the Force vs. Position curve.
Determine the work done as the stretched rubber band pulls the cart by finding the area under the Force vs. Position curve.
On the Velocity vs. Time graph, determine the maximum velocity. Calculate the kinetic energy of the cart and compare to the work done to accelerate the cart.
Why isn’t the work done to stretch the rubber band equal to the work done to accelerate the cart?
Sample Data
The work done loading the rubber band is -1.91 Nm. The work done unloading (when the cart is launched) the rubber band is 0.77 Nm. The resulting kinetic energy of the cart is
KE = ½ mv2 = ½ (0.252 kg)(2.34 m/s)2 = 0.69 J. This is 10% less than the energy available in the stretched rubber band.
The energy stored in the rubber band is less than the work done to stretch the rubber band. Some of that energy goes into heating the rubber band and making the rubber band move.
Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.
Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart.
Make a graph of Force vs. Position.
Make sure the Smart Cart Force sensor (with the magnetic bumper on it) is not touching anything and then zero the Force sensor in the software.
Set the cart bumper against the book. Start recording. Very slowly push the cart until the book breaks loose and then push it steadily across the table. Stop recording.
Take another run, pushing it at a faster speed once it breaks loose.
Add a second book on top of the first book and repeat.
Analysis
For each run, record the maximum force before the book moved. This is an indication of the static friction. If you can find the mass of the book, you can calculate the static coefficient of friction for the book on the table.
For each run, record the average force while the book was moving. This is an indication of the kinetic friction. If you can find the mass of the book, you can calculate the kinetic coefficient of friction for the book on the table.
What effect does speed have on the kinetic friction?
What changes when the extra book is added? Do the coefficients of static and kinetic friction change?
Sample Data
The average kinetic friction for two books is 6.92 N.
The average kinetic friction for one book going slower vs. faster was 3.35 N compared to 4.19 N. This indicates that the speed does influence the kinetic friction slightly.
Hooke’s Law states:
where F is the force of the spring, k is the spring constant, and x is the distance the spring has been stretched.
Take your Smart Cart out of the box.
Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.
Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart.
Make a graph of Force vs. Position.
Install the hook on the Smart Cart Force Sensor. Make sure the Smart Cart Force sensor is not touching anything and then zero the Force sensor in the software.
Put one end of a spring on the hook and hold the other end stationary with your hand. Move the cart slightly to put a little tension on the spring.
Start recording and pull the Smart Cart away from the fixed end of the spring until the spring is stretched out. Then stop recording.
Analysis
On the Force vs. Position graph, apply a linear fit to the straight-line part of the graph.
Determine the spring constant from the slope of the linear fit.
Sample Data
The slope of the graph indicates the spring constant is 6.77 N/m.
In the software, you will need to create a graph of Force vs. Acceleration.
In SPARKvue:
Under “Quick Start Experiments” choose: Impulse
Increase the sampling rate of the Force sensor to 1KHz
In Capstone:
Create two graph displays
Graph 1: [Force] vs. Time
Graph 2: [Velocity] vs. Time
Increase the sampling rate of the Force sensor to 1KHz
You will push the cart into a barrier such that the rubber bumper will collide and bounce the cart off the barrier. A wall, book or other solid vertical surface will work.
Data Collection:
Zero the force sensor
Press the record data button
With the rubber bumper facing towards the barrier, give the Smart Cart a push.
After the Smart Cart has reversed direction, stop data collection.
Data Analysis:
On the Force vs. Time graph, use the Area tool to measure the area under the curve. This is the impulse that the Smart Cart experienced.
On the Velocity vs. Time graph, use the Coordinate tool to find the velocity just before the impact of the Smart Cart against the barrier and record this value. This is the Smart Cart’s initial velocity.
Next, using the Coordinate tool find the velocity after the collision with the barrier. Record this value. This is the Smart Cart’s final velocity.
Weigh the cart without any bumper and record the mass. You may also estimate the mass of the Smart Cart to be around 0.250 kg.
Calculate the change in momentum of the Smart Cart: pf – pi
Compare your calculated value to the area under the Force vs. Time graph.
Sample Data:
This data was created with a Smart Cart that measured 0.246 kg, for an error around 1.5%.
Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.
Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart.
Make a graph of Acceleration-x (from the Smart Cart Acceleration Sensor) vs. Angular Velocity-y (from the Smart Cart Gyro Sensor). Add a second plot area with the Force vs. Angular Velocity-y.
Install the rubber bumper on the Smart Cart Force Sensor. With the cart sitting still, with nothing touching the rubber bumper on the Force Sensor, zero the Acceleration-x, Angular Velocity-y, and the Force in the software.
Set up a board or track on a rotatable chair as shown in the picture. Set the end stop near the end of the track and place the cart’s rubber bumper (Force Sensor end) against the end stop.
Spin the chair and start recording. Let the chair spin down to a stop and then stop recording.
Apply a curve fit to the data to determine how the centripetal acceleration and force are related to the angular velocity. For the quadratic fit, open the curve fit editor at right in Capstone and lock the coefficient B = 0.
This forces the fit to Aω2 + C. From the curve fit, what is the radius?
In which direction are the centripetal acceleration and the centripetal force?
Further Study
Move the end stop 5 cm closer to the center of rotation. Repeat the experiment.
Continue to move the end stop closer to the center in 5 cm increments.
How does the centripetal force depend on the radius?
Sample Data
Both the centripetal acceleration and the centripetal force are pointing toward the center of the circle (they are negative) and are proportional to the square of the angular velocity.
a = -0.383ω2 – 0.0530
F = -0.0966ω2 – 0.00596
m = 0.25 kg
F = ma = 0.25(-0.383ω2 – 0.0530) = -0.096ω2 – 0.013
Forces and Accelerations of objects have a linear relationship that relates the mass of an object being accelerated to an unbalanced force acting on it.
Experimental Setup:
Take your Smart Cart out of the box.
Attach the hook accessory (included with Smart Cart) to the force sensor on the Smart Cart.
Press the power button on the side of the Smart Cart to turn it on.
In SPARKvue or Capstone, pair the Smart Cart to your computer or device. Here are a couple short videos to help you pair in either software:
In the software, you will need to create a graph of Force vs. Acceleration.
SPARKvue: Under “Quick Start Experiments” choose: Newton’s Second Law
Capstone:
Create a Graph Display
Select measurement of [Force] for the y-axis
Select measurement of [Acceleration – x] for the x-axis
In the sampling control panel, press the “Zero Sensor” button
Before you collect data, practice rolling the cart in a forwards and backwards motion by only holding on to the hook. You want to apply a force along the cart’s x-axis, and have the cart roll only along this direction. This is made easier using a PASCO track to keep the cart moving in one direction, but not necessary for the demonstration. (Hint: Try not to wiggle or knock the Smart Cart hook as this will result in extraneous data points.)
Data Collection:
Press the record data button
Holding only the hook, roll the Smart Cart forwards and backwards in the x-direction.
Repeat this motion a few times to generate enough data points to see the graphical relationship.
Stop data collection
Data Analysis:
Turn on the ‘Linear Fit’ tool
This relationship shows that there is a proportionality constant between the unbalanced force, and the Smart Cart’s resulting acceleration.
The proportionality constant is the mass of the cart.
Add mass to the Smart Cart and repeat data collection for the new system mass.
Sample Data:
This data was created with a Smart Cart that measured .246 kg, for an error around 2%.
Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.
Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart. Change the sample rate of the Position Sensor to 40 Hz.
Open the calculator in the software and make the following calculation:
speed=abs([Velocity, Red (m/s)]) with units of m/s
Create a graph of Velocity vs. Time and add a second plot area of speed vs. Time and add a third plot area of Position vs. Time.
Mark a starting point with a piece of tape.
Start recording. Push the cart about 20 cm out and back, ending at the same point where you started.
Analysis
On the Velocity vs. Time graph, find the maximum positive velocity.
What is the instantaneous velocity at the point where you reversed the cart?
What is the average velocity over the entire motion of the cart? Highlight the area of the Velocity vs. Time graph during the time of the motion and turn on the mean statistic.
What is the average speed over the entire motion of the cart? Highlight the area of the speed vs. Time graph during the time of the motion and turn on the mean statistic.
What is the difference between speed and velocity?
Sample Data
The instantaneous velocity when the cart reversed was zero.
The average velocity over the whole trip was zero because we started and stopped in the same place.
The average speed over the whole trip was 0.36 m/s.
Speed is a scalar that is the magnitude of the velocity. Velocity is a vector and has both magnitude (speed) and direction.
Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.
Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart.
Change the sample rate of the Smart Cart Position sensor to 40 Hz.
Set up a graph of Velocity vs. Time and Acceleration vs. Time using the Position sensor’s Velocity and Acceleration.
Make an inclined plane by placing the top edge of one textbook on top of a second textbook.
Put the Smart Cart at the bottom of the incline, with its force sensor end oriented up the incline.
Start recording and push the cart so it just barely reaches the top of the incline and then rolls back down. Stop recording when it gets back down.
Examine the graphs and determine where the cart is:
going up the incline.
going down the incline.
at the top of the incline.
For each of these cases, is the velocity positive, negative, zero, and/or constant? Is the acceleration positive, negative, zero, and/or constant?
When the cart is going up the incline, which direction is the velocity? Which direction is the acceleration? Is the cart accelerating or decelerating?
When the cart is at the top of the incline, the velocity is zero. Which direction is the acceleration? Is the cart accelerating or decelerating?
When the cart is going down the incline, which direction is the velocity? Which direction is the acceleration? Is the cart accelerating or decelerating?
On the Velocity vs. Time graph, find the slope of the straight-line portion. Compare this to the acceleration on the Acceleration vs. Time graph.
Sample Data
When the cart is going up the incline, the velocity is positive (up the incline) while the acceleration is constant and negative (down the incline). The cart is decelerating.
When the cart is at the top of the incline, the velocity is zero while the acceleration is constant and negative (down the incline). The cart is accelerating.
When the cart is going down the incline, the velocity is negative (down the incline) while the acceleration is constant and negative (down the incline).
The slope of the Velocity vs. Time graph is -1.57 m/s2. The average acceleration from the Acceleration vs. Time graph is -1.577 m/s2, which is 0.6% different from the slope.
I recently hosted my first ever professional development event. Usually, at the local level, there aren’t many opportunities for science types. There just aren’t enough of us and we specialize so there isn’t much common talk beyond ‘how can we get the students to love and learn science more?’. That is why I went out of comfort zone to host an event on sensors. I’m still not an expert on my physics equipment from PASCO let along the sensors for the other branches but I thought it was worth the shot.
How do I do a pro-d event that engages the audience? How could I hook the teachers in attendance? The answer was easy. Not for me to stand there and talk at them. No! They needed to do science! They needed to use the sensors. So, that’s what we did.
I set up several stations in my room. One for physics, one for bio, one for chem and outside for earth science. Each station required the use of an appropriate sensor (motion, CO2, pH and weather) and a task. I gave them as little instruction as possible beyond how to use SPARKVue. I wanted them to experience what their students would.
I expected only my department to show up. That is still 13 people. I had middle school and elementary teachers show up as well. How would they do? The hours flew by. I didn’t need to worry about filling the time; we needed more. There was a buzz that you don’t hear at staff meetings. They were engaged. They were loving it. They were hooked on sensors.
What I loved most was the talk on how they could use it for their classes. I wanted to get their ideas because they would know better than I. Every teacher left with an idea on how the sensors could be used…if only we had more.
When the day was over I was asked to host more of these. It was very easy to say yes.
Originally posted on PASCO’s Blog. Blog is written by Bruce Taterka a teacher at West Morris Mendham High School in New Jersey
PASCO’s Wireless CO2 Sensor provides a powerful opportunity for students to explore the effects of photosynthesis and respiration in their local environment. This blog will describe how students can use a “Pretzel Barrel CO2 Chamber” to design experiments to measure rates of photosynthesis and respiration in a wide variety of settings and circumstances.
Background
Soil plays an important role in the carbon cycle and global climate because it acts as a carbon sink, sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere in the form of organic matter. The upper layers of soil contain organic matter that is actively decomposed by the soil community: microbes, insects, worms and other animals.
While respiration by soil organisms decomposes organic matter and releases CO2, the plant community is photosynthesizing and taking in CO2 from the atmosphere. So in this part of the earth’s carbon cycle, CO2 is moving in two directions – into the atmosphere from soil, and out of the atmosphere into plants. We refer to this transfer of carbon as “CO2 flux.” With PASCO’s Wireless CO2 Sensor, students can explore the carbon cycle, plant and soil biology, and climate change by measuring CO2 flux.
The rate of CO2 flux depends on a wide variety of factors. For soil, the rate of CO2 production may be affected by:
The content and type of organic matter in the soil
Temperature
Moisture
Sunlight
Soil chemistry
For the plant community, the rate of CO2 production may be affected by:
Type and density of plants
Temperature
Moisture
Sunlight
Soil chemistry
Carbon flux will vary with the weather, throughout the day, and the year as the season’s change. Measuring CO2 flux provides an excellent jumping-off point for engaging in NGSS practices regarding the earth’s carbon cycle.
Figure 1. Collect data, and construct explanations. Integrating a range of analytical results can form the basis for creating a model of the earth’s carbon cycle and designing solutions to problems such as climate change and food production.
Students can define their research questions and problems, analyze the results, and generate designs to conduct a variety of controlled experiments using the chamber. Most experiments will identify the CO2 concentration inside the chamber as the dependent variable and will test the effect of an independent variable of students’ choice.
On land, students can compare CO2 flux on soil, lawn, forest, sunny vs. shady areas, and in a wide variety of other situations. In general, when the chamber is on bare soil or leaf litter, the CO2 concentration inside the chamber will be expected to increase, usually within a short period such as 5 or 10 minutes. Figure 1. For longer investigations, the sensor can be placed in logging mode (storing data to internal memory) and left for ~24hrs before the batteries will be depleted.
Logging Mode Video
The chamber can be placed over plants that can fit inside it, in which case CO2 concentration inside the chamber should decrease, although it may be counteracted by respiration. The chamber can even be used on water by wrapping a piece of foam insulation around it, allowing it to float.
In any type of environment, students can design their studies to investigate the effect of different variables on CO2 flux.
How to make a Pretzel Barrel CO2 Chamber
The chamber is made of a plastic pretzel container available in supermarkets.
Draw a straight line around the container, then cut it in half using a razor knife to form two large plastic chambers open at the bottom and closed on top.
You have two options here. You can cut a hole in the top for a CO2 sensor using an electric drill or a razor knife. The hole should allow the CO2 sensor to fit snugly, keeping the container airtight; the hole can be adjusted with tape if necessary to create a tight seal around the sensor. Alternatively, the sensor can be placed inside the container since it’s wireless!
The chamber is now ready to be used by placing it on top of soil and measuring CO2 flux.
For aquatic environments, wrap a piece of foam pipe insulation around it.
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Marie Claude Dupuis
I have taught grade 9 applied science, science and technology, grade 10 applied, regular and enriched science, grade 11 chemistry and physics for 33 years at Westwood Senior High School in Hudson Québec. I discovered the PASCO equipment in 2019 and it completely changed my life. I love to discover, produce experiments and share discoveries. I am looking forward to work with your team.
Christopher Sarkonak
Having graduated with a major in Computer Science and minors in Physics and Mathematics, I began my teaching career at Killarney Collegiate Institute in Killarney, Manitoba in 2009. While teaching Physics there, I decided to invest in PASCO products and approached the Killarney Foundation with a proposal about funding the Physics lab with the SPARK Science Learning System and sensors. While there I also started a tremendously successful new course that gave students the ability to explore their interests in science and consisted of students completing one project a month, two of which were to be hands-on experiments, two of which were to be research based, and the final being up to the student.
In 2011 I moved back to Brandon, Manitoba and started working at the school I had graduated from, Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School. In 2018 I finally had the opportunity to once again teach Physics and have been working hard to build the program. Being in the vocational school for the region has led to many opportunities to collaborate with our Electronics, Design Drafting, Welding, and Photography departments on highly engaging inter-disciplinary projects. I believe very strongly in showing students what Physics can look like and build lots of demonstrations and experiments for my classes to use, including a Reuben’s tube, an electromagnetic ring launcher, and Schlieren optics setup, just to name a few that have become fan favourites among the students in our building. At the end of my first year teaching Physics at Crocus Plains I applied for CERN’s International High School Teacher Programme and became the first Canadian selected through direct entry in the 21 years of the program. This incredible opportunity gave me the opportunity to learn from scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider and from CERN’s educational outreach team at the S’Cool Lab. Following this, I returned to Canada and began working with the Perimeter Institute, becoming part of their Teacher Network.
These experiences and being part of professional development workshops with the AAPT and the Canadian Light Source (CLS) this summer has given me the opportunity to speak to many Physics educators around the world to gain new insights into how my classroom evolves. As I work to build our program, I am exploring new ideas that see students take an active role in their learning, more inter-disciplinary work with departments in our school, the development of a STEM For Girls program in our building, and organizing participation in challenges from the ESA, the Students on the Beamline program from CLS, and our local science fair.
Meaghan Boudreau
Though I graduated with a BEd qualified to teach English and Social Studies, it just wasn’t meant to be. My first job was teaching technology courses at a local high school, a far cry from the English and Social Studies job I had envisioned myself in. I was lucky enough to stay in that position for over ten years, teaching various technology courses in grades 10-12, while also obtaining a Master of Education in Technology Integration and a Master of Education in Online Instructional Media.
You will notice what is absent from my bio is any background in science. In fact, I took the minimum amount of required science courses to graduate high school. Three years ago I switched roles and currently work as a Technology Integration Leader; supporting teachers with integrating technology into their pedagogy in connection with the provincial outcomes. All of our schools have PASCO sensors at some level (mostly grades 4-12) and I made it my professional goal to not only learn how to use them, but to find ways to make them more approachable for teachers with no formal science background (like me!). Having no background or training in science has allowed me to experience a renewed love of Science, making it easier for me to support teachers in learning how to use PASCO sensors in their classrooms. I wholeheartedly believe that if more teachers could see just how easy they are to use, the more they will use them in the classroom and I’ve made it my goal to do exactly that.
I enjoy coming up with out-of-the-box ways of using the sensors, including finding curriculum connections within subjects outside of the typical science realm. I have found that hands on activities with immediate feedback, which PASCO sensors provide, help students and teachers see the benefits of technology in the classroom and will help more students foster a love of science and STEAM learning.
Michelle Brosseau
I have been teaching since 2009 at my alma mater, Ursuline College Chatham. I studied Mathematics and Physics at the University of Windsor. I will have completed my Professional Master’s of Education through Queen’s University in 2019. My early teaching years had me teaching Math, Science and Physics, which has evolved into teaching mostly Physics in recent years. Some of my favourite topics are Astronomy, Optics and Nuclear Physics. I’ve crossed off many activities from my “Physics Teacher Bucket List”, most notably bungee jumping, skydiving, and driving a tank.
Project-based learning, inquiry-based research and experiments, Understanding by Design, and Critical Thinking are the frameworks I use for planning my courses. I love being able to use PASCO’s sensors to enhance the learning of my students, and make it even more quantitative.
I live in Chatham, Ontario with my husband and two sons.
