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NSTA Recommends Takes the Vernier Go Direct® O2 Gas Sensor on a Flight
NSTA Recommends recently featured the Go Direct® O2 Gas Sensor. In his review, Martin Horejsi used the wireless sensor to collect data during various investigations, including an out-of-the-classroom experiment on an airplane. He highlighted the sensor’s features, plug-and-play functionality, and overall ease of use.
In the review, Martin says:
“With [the] new Go Direct® O2 Gas Sensor, the ability for students to measure relative oxygen concentration has never been easier or faster.”
“As a wireless probe the Vernier Go Direct® O2 Gas Sensor provides all the necessary capabilities of an O2 sensor with none of the pesky cables that limit use, knock over experiments, and require an additional interface.”
He concludes by saying:
“The Vernier Go Direct® O2 Gas Sensor pushes the boundary of experimental measurement forcing a teaching evolution beyond the analog. We can now fulfill the dream as science teachers to where our students leave us behind as they accelerate past us.”
The Go Direct® O2 Gas Sensor measures gaseous oxygen concentration levels and air temperature. It is part of the complete Go Direct family of sensors that offers teachers and students maximum versatility to collect scientific data either wirelessly or via a USB connection. These low-cost sensors can be used in more than 300 teacher-tested experiments developed by Vernier and are supported by free graphing and analysis software, the Graphical Analysis™ 4 app.
Read more about the Go Direct O2 Gas Sensor on NSTA Recommends »
Vernier Go Direct® Sensors Win a 2018 Tech Edvocate Award
Our Go Direct family of sensors, along with Graphical Analysis™ 4, recently won a 2018 Tech Edvocate Award. The family of wireless sensors and its accompanying software were recognized in the Best STEM/STEAM Education App or Tool category.
After an initial round of online voting by educators, finalists and winners were ultimately selected by a panel comprised of two edtech thought leaders, two pre-K through 12th grade teachers, one college professor, two K through 12 administrators, one college administrator, and two pre-K through 12th grade parents. The winning products were chosen based on the extent to which they are transforming education.
The complete Go Direct family of sensors offers teachers and students maximum versatility to collect scientific data either wirelessly or via a USB connection. These low-cost sensors can be used in more than 300 teacher-tested experiments developed by Vernier and are supported by free graphing and analysis software, the Graphical Analysis 4 app.
Learn more about Go Direct sensors and Graphical Analysis 4 »
Spectral Analysis® 4.6 Released
Spectral Analysis 4.6 is now available for iOS, Android™, macOS®, Windows®, and ChromeOS™.
New Features
- Intensity mode data collection for Vernier SpectroVis Plus and Vernier Go Direct SpectroVis Plus
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Y-Axis Plot Manager provides new controls over graphing
- Individual Data Set display can be enabled or disabled
- Data Sets can be renamed
- Column Options and other column operations can be performed from the graph
- More flexible graph scaling options, including Manual scaling
- Graph traces are identified by color on the y axis label, assisting reading of graphs with two or more traces.
- On touch screens, graph can now be zoomed (pinch) and panned (two-fingers)
- Redesigned New Experiment dialog
- iOS now saves only to local storage, but files can be copied to cloud locations using the Files app
- Numeric entry keyboard on iOS small screens now allows negative values and scientific notation
Get Your 260/280 Ratio with Logger Pro
Molecular biologists and biochemists are always talking about their sample’s 260/280 ratio. It is so commonly used that entire instruments are dedicated to displaying this value when analyzing a sample. The A260/A280 ratio is a procedure that tells scientists the extinct of contamination of their nucleic acid solution by proteins, carbohydrates, and other organic molecules.
The basis of this test relies on the Beer-Lambert law: A = εbc; where A is absorbance, e is the molar extinction coefficient, b is the cell path length, and c is the sample concentration. The commonly accepted average extinction coefficients for a 1 mg/mL nucleic acid solution at 260 nm and 280 nm are 20 and 10, respectively. In proteins, the extinction coefficient values at 260 nm and 280 nm at a concentration of 1 mg/mL are 0.57 and 1.00, respectively. Therefore, nucleic acid samples would be expected to have a higher absorbance at 260 nm than at 280 nm; in a protein sample, the opposite is true. Using these extinction coefficients, pure nucleic acid samples would have an A260/A280 ratio of 2.0, while protein would be 0.57.
In order to make the determination of a 260/280 ratio easier with a Vernier UV-VIS Spectrophotometer or a Vernier Fluorescence/UV-VIS Spectrophotometer, we have developed a Logger Pro 3 template that you can use to easily see the ratio without having to go through the entire process every time. A screenshot of the Logger Pro template is shown below.
To use this template, first download the template file. Connect the spectrometer to your computer and open the file in Logger Pro. After you have properly calibrated your spectrometer and prepped your sample, insert your sample into the spectrometer. Press the Collect button and the A260/A280 ratio value will be displayed live in the meter. The table is also displayed in the Logger Pro template. If you double click on the 260/280 header in the table, you can see the calculations used to generate the value and make modifications, if desired.
Vernier has great options for biochemistry, be sure to visit our biochemistry solution page for more free resources and great tips.
Download our Logger Pro template for completing a 260/280 ratio »
The Centripetal Force Apparatus Goes Wireless
The new Go Direct® Centripetal Force Apparatus makes it easier than ever to investigate rotational dynamics. Students can investigate the relationships among force, mass, and radius wirelessly—all you need is the Go Direct Centripetal Force Apparatus, a Go Direct Force and Acceleration Sensor, and a device running our free Graphical Analysis™ 4 app. No additional interface is needed.
With Go Direct Force and Acceleration mounted on the apparatus’ beam, you are ready to investigate centripetal acceleration. Attach the mass carriage, and you can explore Newton’s second law as it applies to rotational dynamics. No tangled wires to worry about. All you need to do is slide the sensor onto the beam, attach the mass carriage, and secure the sensor at the desired location. Select the appropriate data-collection channels in Graphical Analysis 4 for your investigation: Z-axis gyro to capture angular velocity, X-axis acceleration for centripetal acceleration, and/or Force for centripetal force. Then, you’re ready to collect data. As you turn the spindle to rotate the beam, the sensor will apply the force necessary to pull the carriage in a circular motion.
The relationship can be further explored as students apply knowledge gained from the curve fit to linearize the data.
Students can quickly devise their own experiments to develop a model for the effect of mass or radius of rotation on the force, and then test the model. Select a mass and position and see if it matches their prediction.
Robotic Hand Project
We have had a lot of fun with the Robotic Hand project, which we discovered in the Hacking STEM Library from Microsoft®. Using our Low-g Accelerometer, an Arduino™, and our Vernier Arduino™ Interface Shield, we modified the project to create an easier control system.
Pivot Interactives Adds Chemistry
Have you ever done an experiment that you wish you could repeat with different chemicals or concentrations but lacked the time and materials? This is where Pivot Interactives new activities for chemistry can become a valuable teaching tool.
Pivot Interactives is a browser-based collection of videos and analysis tools that enable students to control real results—not simulations. The videos come with appropriate tools for measuring volume, mass, temperature, time, and even color intensity. There are additional tools to carefully control the progression of the video and experiment. Online tables and graphs are used for students to graph relationships between the variables being studied. Calculated columns can be built and graphed.
Topics include Beer-Lambert law, acid-base titration, kinetics, rate laws and activation energy, gas laws, density, specific heat, and more.
Wait until you see how the “black box” around a colorimeter or spectrometer is stripped away to show the essence of how the device measures transmittance and absorbance. The students use their own eyes as the detector with a clever combination of tools and filters to determine the appropriate wavelength to use for the experiment.
See how Pivot Interactives can enhance your instruction and bring to life many concepts in your chemistry curriculum by signing up for a free 30-day trial.
Easily Record and Analyze EMGs with Go Direct® EKG
Many teachers are interested in using our EKG sensors to record an electromyogram (EMG), the electrical activity produced from muscle contractions. Recording an EMG is straightforward, but there are multiple ways that an EMG can be analyzed. The most robust technique is to measure the integral of the rectified EMG signal, which can easily be done using the Go Direct EKG Sensor.
A normal EMG has both positive and negative deflections. A rectified EMG uses a function that makes all of the EMG deflections positive—the larger the integral, the larger the muscle contraction. In the past, we have offered special Logger Pro and LabQuest files that provide the proper filtering and calculated column support to record and analyze rectified EMGs. But, the Go Direct EKG Sensor makes recording rectified EMGs much simpler. No special files or filter settings are required—just change the channel to EMG Rectified and start collecting data. Then simply measure the integral of the signal in Graphical Analysis.
The sample graph shows an example of an EMG and rectified EMG recorded from the forearm using Go Direct EKG. A digital high-pass filter that has been optimized for recording EMGs is automatically applied to the EMG channel. The EMG Rectified channel returns the absolute value of the EMG channel, making all of the EMG deflections positive.
To analyze the rectified EMGs, simply select the region of the rectified EMG you want to analyze and use the View Integral feature in Graphical Analysis 4. You can even compare the integrals of different rectified EMGs to see which condition produced less or more muscle activity. For example, in the sample graph, the area of the rectified EMG increases with each burst of activity. The first, second, and third rectified EMGs have areas of 0.181, 0.329, and 0.441 mV s.
If you have any questions about EMGs or human physiology, feel free to contact physiology@vernier.com
What Are the Best Light Sources For Photosynthesis?
Photosynthetic organisms such as plants and algae use electromagnetic radiation from the visible spectrum to drive the synthesis of sugar molecules. Special pigments in chloroplasts of plant cells absorb the energy of certain wavelengths of light, causing a molecular chain reaction known as the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. The best wavelengths of visible light for photosynthesis fall within the blue range (425–450 nm) and red range (600–700 nm). Therefore, the best light sources for photosynthesis should ideally emit light in the blue and red ranges. In this study, we used a Go Direct® SpectroVis® Plus Spectrophotometer with a Vernier Spectrophotometer Optical Fiber and LabQuest 2 to collect spectra from four different light sources. This allowed us to determine the wavelengths emitted by each source and to get an idea of their relative intensities.
Wavelengths of light outside of the red and blue ranges are not used by most plants, and can contribute to heat build-up in plant tissues. This heat can damage plants and even interfere with photosynthesis. In order to identify the ideal light source for photosynthesis studies we compared the output or emission spectra of four different E27 type bulbs in the same desk lamp: a) 60 W incandescent bulb, b) 35 W halogen bulb, c) 28 W-equivalent LED “plant bulb” (6–9 W), and d) 13 W compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb. Each light was measured at a standard distance of 50 cm.
Based on our results, the best light bulb for promoting photosynthesis in plants was the LED plant bulb. This bulb produces a strong output in both the blue and red wavelengths, with very little additional light in other regions to cause heat build-up. All of the other light sources had very little output in the blue range. The halogen and incandescent bulbs had extremely broad output ranges from green to deep into the red portion of the spectrum, but with little to nothing in the blue range. The least suitable lamp for photosynthesis was the CFL bulb. While it emitted some light in both the blue and red ranges (with several peaks in between), the intensity of this bulb was the weakest when compared to all the other lamps. LED plant lights are available from a variety of online merchants and home and garden stores. They have become very affordable, and work well for experiments that investigate photosynthesis.
Vernier in the Physics Journals (Fall 2018)
Physics Meets Art in the General Education Core
Marta L. Dark and Derrick J. Hylton; Journal of College Science Teaching, 2018, (47) 3.
If you take the Physics and the Arts course at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, you will be exposed to many applications of a traditional physics class as they apply to various areas in the arts. Light, color, sound, gravity, equilibrium, and space time are some of the topics that are explored. Students explore the topics with a guided inquiry approach. At the end of the course, students create artwork that illustrates a physical concept. Students use a Go Direct® SpectroVis® Plus Spectrophotometer and Logger Pro 3 software while they study aspects of color and light.
Enhancing a Scientific Inquiry Lesson Through Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning
Kathleen Koenig, Janet Mannheimer Zydney, Doug Behr, and Lei Bao; Science Scope, September, 2017.
In this guided inquiry activity, students learn about energy transformations as they apply to renewable energy. Students use the KidWind Basic Wind Experiment Kit to design windmill turbines that result in the highest energy output. The students research about how windmill blades work, and brainstorm which designs are most likely to produce the highest output. Students are expected to be able to identify controls, independent variables, and dependent variables. They also demonstrate how they control those variables in their designs. They develop prototypes that they test with a box fan. After initial tests, they modify their design to improve energy output. This project is closely linked to NGSS and CAST standards.
Where Does The Energy Go?
Marta R. Stoeckel (Tartan High School, Oakdale, MN); The Science Teacher, Vol. 85, No. 1, January, 2018.
This article explains how to use evidence-based reasoning to study the bounce of a ball. It is linked to NGSS standards and the authors use Logger Pro 3 video analysis to plot a ball’s position.
Burst Mode Composite Photography for Dynamic Physics Demonstrations
James Lincoln; The Physics Teacher, May, 2018.
Many digital cameras, and even camera phones, have “burst mode.” This allows the cameras to take a series of photos in rapid succession. The author explains how to take and composite these photos, which results in one image showing the photos overlaid. If a moving object is in the scene, you can use our photo analysis to get distance, velocity, and acceleration data of that image.