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The Caliper
A Publication for Users of Vernier Products

Ever since we began selling the CO2 Gas Sensor, customers have been requesting a sensor that measures oxygen gas. The wait is over. We are proud to announce our new O2 Gas Sensor (order code O2-DIN, $184). This new sensor is designed to measure oxygen concentration in air. Note that we have a different sensor, the Dissolved Oxygen Probe (order code DO-DIN), for measuring oxygen in water.
Included with the O2 Sensor is a 250-mL Nalgene bottle to be used as a respiration chamber for studying plants and insects. The sensor’s measurement range is 0% to 27% oxygen. For human respiration activities, the end of the sensor can connect to a 22-mm standard breathing tube.
Many of the experiments currently performed using the CO2 Gas Sensor can be performed with or complemented by the O2 Gas Sensor. When measuring CO2 production during a respiration experiment, it might be very informative to measure oxygen consumption at the same time. The graph on the left (using theCO2 Gas Sensor) illustrates increasing carbon dioxide levels as a sample of germinated peas respire. The graph on the right (using the O2 Gas Sensor) was made with the same peas, and illustrates oxygen levels decreasing during respiration.

Due to its wide measurement range, the O2 Gas Sensor performs remarkably well for monitoring oxygen concentration during human respiration. This graph illustrates the use of the sensor to monitor the concentration of oxygen gas expired over several trials by a single individual. In each trial, the subject held his breath for a different duration (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 seconds) before expiring into the sensor. The O2 Gas Sensor will be available in December, 1999.