Introduction to Data Collection

Introduction

Data collection is a very important part of science. Meteorologists collect weather data over time to keep an historical record and to help make forecasts. Oceanographers collect data on the salinity (saltiness) of seawater to study changing trends in our Earth’s oceans. While data have been collected by hand for thousands of years, the technology to collect data electronically has been around for fewer than 80 years. Only in the last 20 years has this technology been available to schools.

This experiment was designed to introduce you to two of the most common modes of data collection that will be used in this class. Part I will guide you through collecting and analyzing data over time. A Temperature Probe will be used to record the temperature of water for 60 seconds at a rate of one sample per second. In Part II, you will collect data using a mode called Events with Entry. This style of data collection allows you to collect one point of data, then will ask you to type in a corresponding value. In this experiment, the data collected will be the temperature of your hand and the value you type in will be your assigned group number.

Objectives

In this experiment, you will

• Become familiar with the Logger Pro computer program.
• Use a computer and a Temperature Probe to make measurements.
• Analyze a graph of the data.
• Use this graph to make conclusions about the experiment.
• Determine the response time of a Temperature Probe.