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Assumption College Visit

Yesterday we visited Department Head David Page and the Science Department at Assumption College School in Brantford, Ontario.

We demonstrated a variety of PASCO products including the newest additions, the Greenhouse Sense and Control Kit and PASCObot as well as PASCO classics including the Basic Optics System, and award-winning Smart Cart.

It was great to be back in person interacting with teachers! We discussed ways to integrate PASCO products into the classroom to create a fun, educational, and hands-on environment for students.

We were very impressed with Assumption College’s extensive PASCO collection and how they are using multi-generations of PASCO in tandem for their labs.

Thank you to David Page for arranging the visit and we are looking forward to visiting more schools in the future!

Coding with Blockly: Displaying a Smart Cart’s Velocity Vector

Today I got to work through an experiment using PASCO’s Wireless Smart Cart and Blockly code on SPARKvue.  I followed the Blockly Extension: Vector Display lab from the PASCO Experiment Library. This lab guides you to use Blockly code to display text on the screen depending on the speed of the Smart Cart.

I connected the Smart Cart through Bluetooth to SPARKvue and read through the lab procedure. I started off by slowly moving the Smart cart along my desk while observing the velocity graph. I conducted three runs, one to determine a low velocity, a medium velocity, and a high velocity. I took note of these three velocities, as shown in the image on the right, so that they could be included within the code. After getting familiar with the lab, I copied the example code, adjusting the velocity values to the ones I recorded, as shown in the image on the left. I tested my code by clicking start and moving the Smart Cart. At first, I was not sure where to look for the displayed text. I realized I had to change my display from a graph to digits. Then, by clicking the variable being displayed, I switched from Sensors to User-entered and chose Velocity Vector (the variable I created in the Blockly code). This time when I pressed start, the vectors I assigned to each velocity displayed on the screen depending on the Smart Cart’s speed. I decided to change the text displayed from vectors to words. As shown in the video below, I used simple terms such as slow, medium, and fast to describe the carts’ velocities.

I found this lab super cool! It was my first time experimenting with the Wireless Smart Cart using Blockly code and I am looking forward to coding more products.

Work-Energy Theorem

  1. Take your Smart Cart out of the box.

  2. Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.

  3. Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart.

  4. Change the sample rate of the Smart Cart Position and Force sensors to 40 Hz.

  5. Make a graph of Force vs. Position and another graph of Velocity vs. Time.

  6. Install the hook on the Smart Cart’s force sensor. Without anything touching the force sensor, zero the force sensor in the software.

  7. 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.

  8. 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

  1. Determine the work done in stretching the rubber band by finding the area under the Force vs. Position curve.

  2. Determine the work done as the stretched rubber band pulls the cart by finding the area under the Force vs. Position curve.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

Static and Kinetic Friction

 

  1. Take your Smart Cart out of the box.

  2. Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.

  3. Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart.

  4. Make a graph of Force vs. Position.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. Take another run, pushing it at a faster speed once it breaks loose.

  8. Add a second book on top of the first book and repeat.

Analysis

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. What effect does speed have on the kinetic friction?

  4. 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.

Mass of First Book = 1.56 kg

Mass of Second Book = 1.58 kg

For one book:

μs = F/mg = 3.09N/(1.56)(9.8) = 0.2

μk = F/mg = 3.17N/(1.56)(9.8) = 0.2

For two books:

μs = F/mg = 7.11 N/(1.56+1.58)(9.8) = 0.2

μk = F/mg = 6.59N/(1.56+1.58)(9.8) = 0.2

Hooke’s Law

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.

  1. Take your Smart Cart out of the box.

  2. Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.

  3. Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart.

  4. Make a graph of Force vs. Position.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

     

  7. 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

  1. On the Force vs. Position graph, apply a linear fit to the straight-line part of the graph.

  2. 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.

Impulse Demonstration

Equipment:

Smart Cart

Accessory Rubber Bumper

Learning Outcome:

A force acting on an object for a period of time imparts an impulse to that object which is defined as a change in momentum.

Experimental Setup:

  1. Take your Smart Cart out of the box

  2. Attach the rubber bumper accessory (included with Smart Cart) to the force sensor on the Smart Cart.

  3. Press the power button on the side of the Smart Cart to turn it on.

  4. 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:

    1. SPARKvue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsdHWu4quNo

    2. Capstone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGy-UG245lY

  5. In the software, you will need to create a graph of Force vs. Acceleration.

    1. In SPARKvue:

      1. Under “Quick Start Experiments” choose: Impulse

      2. Increase the sampling rate of the Force sensor to 1KHz

    2. In Capstone:

      1. Create two graph displays

      2. Graph 1: [Force] vs. Time

      3. Graph 2: [Velocity] vs. Time

      4. 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:

  1. Zero the force sensor

  2. Press the record data button

  3. With the rubber bumper facing towards the barrier, give the Smart Cart a push.

  4. After the Smart Cart has reversed direction, stop data collection.

 

Data Analysis:

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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%.

Centripetal Acceleration and Force

  1. Take your Smart Cart out of the box.

  2. Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.

  3. Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

    Post

  7. Spin the chair and start recording. Let the chair spin down to a stop and then stop recording.

  8. 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?

  1. In which direction are the centripetal acceleration and the centripetal force?

Further Study

  1. Move the end stop 5 cm closer to the center of rotation. Repeat the experiment.

  2. Continue to move the end stop closer to the center in 5 cm increments.

  3. 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

The radius is 0.383 m because a = rω2.

Newton’s Second Law Demonstration

Equipment:

  • Smart Cart

  • Accessory Hook

Learning Outcome:

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:

  1. Take your Smart Cart out of the box.

  2. Attach the hook accessory (included with Smart Cart) to the force sensor on the Smart Cart.

  3. Press the power button on the side of the Smart Cart to turn it on.

  4. 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:

    1. SPARKvue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsdHWu4quNo

    2. Capstone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGy-UG245lY

  5. In the software, you will need to create a graph of Force vs. Acceleration.

    1. SPARKvue: Under “Quick Start Experiments” choose: Newton’s Second Law

    2. Capstone:

      1. Create a Graph Display

      2. Select measurement of [Force] for the y-axis

      3. Select measurement of [Acceleration – x] for the x-axis

      4. 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:

  1. Press the record data button

  2. Holding only the hook, roll the Smart Cart forwards and backwards in the x-direction.

  3. Repeat this motion a few times to generate enough data points to see the graphical relationship.

  4. Stop data collection

Data Analysis:

  1. Turn on the ‘Linear Fit’ tool

  2. This relationship shows that there is a proportionality constant between the unbalanced force, and the Smart Cart’s resulting acceleration.

  3. 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%.

Average and Instantaneous Velocity and Speed

  1. Take your Smart Cart out of the box.
  2. Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.
  3. Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart. Change the sample rate of the Position Sensor to 40 Hz.
  4. Open the calculator in the software and make the following calculation:
‎speed‎=abs([Velocity, Red (m/s)‎])       with units of m/s
  1. 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.
  2. Mark a starting point with a piece of tape.
  3. Start recording. Push the cart about 20 cm out and back, ending at the same point where you started.
Analysis
  1. On the Velocity vs. Time graph, find the maximum positive velocity.
  2. What is the instantaneous velocity at the point where you reversed the cart?
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

The Differences Between Velocity and Acceleration

  1. Take your Smart Cart out of the box.

  2. Turn it on and open your choice of software: SPARKvue or Capstone.

  3. Wirelessly connect to the Smart Cart.

  4. Change the sample rate of the Smart Cart Position sensor to 40 Hz.

  5. Set up a graph of Velocity vs. Time and Acceleration vs. Time using the Position sensor’s Velocity and Acceleration.

  6. Make an inclined plane by placing the top edge of one textbook on top of a second textbook.

  7. Put the Smart Cart at the bottom of the incline, with its force sensor end oriented up the incline.

  8. 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.

  9. Examine the graphs and determine where the cart is:

    1. going up the incline.

    2. going down the incline.

    3. 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?

  1. When the cart is going up the incline, which direction is the velocity? Which direction is the acceleration? Is the cart accelerating or decelerating?

  2. 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?

  3. When the cart is going down the incline, which direction is the velocity? Which direction is the acceleration? Is the cart accelerating or decelerating?

  4. 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.

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What Educators Say About Working With Us

  • A big thanks for all the help and support you provided – I want to take some time to say a big thanks for all the help and support you provided me to select the best equipment in order to make the best possible use of the funds available. It is really exceptional that you happily connected with me multiple times even during the weekend and was always motivated to help. Please accept my big thanks for this.

    Gurpreet Sidhu | Physics Instructor | University College of North | The Pas, MB

  • Wireless Spectrometer Big Hit With Students – PASCO’s wireless spectrometer has been utilized very well by our earth science and physical science teachers. It’s an excellent piece of equipment and we have very much enjoyed its addition to enriching our classroom. It definitely brings students to a higher level of understanding wave interaction at a molecular level.

    Matt Tumbach | Secondary Instructional Technology Leader | Tommy Douglas Collegiate | Saskatoon, SK

  • Excellent Smart Cart – I thought the cart was excellent. The quick sampling rate for force will be very useful for momentum and collision labs we do. I’m recommending we include this in our order for next school year.

    Reed Jeffrey | Science Department Head | Upper Canada College | Toronto ON

  • Your lab equipment is of the highest quality and technical support is always there to help. During the 25 years we have used a wide array of lab equipment including computer interfacing. Your Pasco line has a high profile in our lab and will continue to do so far into the future.

    Bob Chin | Lab Technician | Kwantlen Polytechnic University | Surrey, BC

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    Throughout the province of Nova Scotia, PASCO’s probeware technology has been merged with the rollout of the new P-6 curriculum. We chose a number of sensors for use with our project-based activities. Both the functionality and mobility of PASCO’s dataloggers enable students to collect authentic, real-world data, test their hypotheses and build knowledge.

    Mark Richards | Technology Integration Consultant | Annapolis Valley R.S.B. | Nova Scotia

  • We have a large number of PASCO wireless spectrometers and love how they have improved the learning experience for our students.

    Shawn McFadden | Technical Specialist | Ryerson University | Toronto, Ontario

  • During distance learning due to COVID-19 school shut down, I was given a short window to collect what I could from my classroom to teach online. The PASCO wireless sensors and Smart Carts were my top priority to collect to implement distance learning. By sharing experimental data with students via SPARKVue, the sensors were pivotal in creating an online experience that still allowed students to grow with their lab skills. It was easy to record videos of the data collection and share the data with my students. They did a phenomenal job examining and interpreting the data.


    Michelle Brosseau | Physics Teacher | Ursuline College Chatham | Chatham, Ontario

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