189 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
189 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
# Seismograph Activity
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Welcome! In this project, you will build your own seismograph. This activity will teach how to use the micro:bit to chart the strength of the acceleration. Let's get started! Project duration: 25 minutes.
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### ~avatar avatar
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Engineering: In this project, you will build your own seismograph micro:bit from tape and a household plate.
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### ~
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## What you'll need:
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* BBC micro:bit
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* micro USB cable
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* Plate
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* Tape
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* Scissors
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# Engineering Steps
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## 1.
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Prepare Tape: Measure and cut approximately 10mm of tape. The tape will be fastened to a micro USB cable.
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## 2.
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Fasten Tape: Fasten tape to the micro USB cable and to the plate. Attach the micro:bit to the micro:bit USB cable.
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### ~avatar avatar
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Computer Science: The seismograph has been built. We are ready to program the micro:bit to be a seismograph!
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### ~
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# Programming Steps
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## 3.
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We will measure `acceleration (mg)` in terms of strength or Magnitude.
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```blocks
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input.acceleration(Dimension.Strength);
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```
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## 4.
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Use the plot bar chart to visualize the acceleration on the LED screen. Use a forever to keep reading the acceleration value and displaying it on the screen.
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```blocks
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basic.forever(() => {
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led.plotBarGraph(input.acceleration(Dimension.Strength), 0);
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});
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```
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## 6.
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At rest, the micro:bit is always subject to Earth gravity, whose magnitude is measured around ``1023``. Substract ``1023`` to measure a data close to ``0``.
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```blocks
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basic.forever(() => {
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led.plotBarGraph(input.acceleration(Dimension.Strength) - 1023, 0);
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});
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```
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### ~
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### ~avatar avatar
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Data Analysis: We now need to use the micro:bit to Analyze Data and chart for the strength of the acceleration.
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### ~
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# Data Analysis Steps
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## 7.
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First, notice that moving the micro:bit in the simulator in any direction, you will change the acceleration value, which is being displayed as the same color as the micro:bit simulator. Also, notice that by moving the micro:bit simulator, there is a changing acceleration value. Second, the flat colored horizontal line will start a waving line to display the value of the strength as measured in milli-gravities. Finally, notice that the LED display will fluctate based on the movement of the micro:bit simulator.
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## 8.
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Connect a micro:bit to your computer using your USB cable
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Click or tap the **Download** button for the seismograph program to run the program on the micro:bit.
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## 9.
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A black line should appear directly beneath the colored line. The black line measures the micro:bit acceleration. And the colored line measures micro:bit simulator acceleration.
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Run the acceleration experiment by vigarously moving the plate in any direction or move the object below the micro:bit (such as a table).
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Every time the micro:bit moves in any direction, you generate data points that can be reviewed in Excel later. The more attempts to move the micro:bit, the more data to be reviewed in Excel.
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## 10.
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Please find seismogrph experiment obervations:
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First, notice that moving the micro:bit in any direction, you will change the acceleration value, which is being displayed as a milli-gravities value. By moving the micro:bit, there will be a changing acceleration value.
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Second, the horizontal line will move to plot the value of the strength as measured in milli-gravities. The horizontal line's movement is based on the micro:bit acceleration in Magnitude or Strength.
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Third, notice that the LED display fluctates based on the movement of the micro:bit.
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Now we are ready to graph or chart the accceleration of the micro:bit. We want a printout of the micro:bit acceleration graphed in Excel.
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## 11.
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In order to receive the the data plotted by Excel, click or tap anywhere in the on the chart data.
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## 12.
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You have two options to Analyze Data:
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* Local File: Save the data to your local Downloads folder and open it in Excel.
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* Stream to Cloud: Upload your data to Microsoft Azure to analyze it.
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Click or tap Download data
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## 13.
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A CSV file will be generated to display the data points collected by the micro:bit. Click or tap on the data Excel file that was downloaded to your local Downloads Folder.
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## 14.
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Select the data that you want to include in your chart. The chart should include the first two columns: time and acceleration.
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Click or tap on the first two columns (A, B) to include time and acceleration data from the micro:bit
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## 15.
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Click or tap on Insert then select Recommended Charts. We can select a chart that’s just right for the data.
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On the Recommended Charts tab, scroll through the list of chart types that Excel recommends for your data.
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We want to select the chart called Line. A line chart is used to display trends over time. We will use the line chart because there are many data points over time.
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Click on the chart type to see how your data will look in that format. When you find the chart type that you want, click it, and then click OK.
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Tip: If you don’t see the line chart, click the All Charts tab to see the line chart.
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## 16.
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Use the Chart Elements, Chart Styles, and Chart Filters buttons next to the upper-right corner of the chart to add chart elements like axis titles or data labels, to customize the look of your chart
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Alternatively, click or tap on the Design Ribbon.
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Let's select Style 10 as an example.
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### ~avatar avatar
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Excellent, you're ready to continue with the [challenges](/lessons/seismograph/challenge)
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### ~
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