| Lab Name |
Measuring and Comparing Air Quality
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| Subject Area |
Science
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| Grade |
7
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| Topic |
- Evolution of Technology (Waves)
- Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life.
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| Experiment Title |
Measuring and Comparing Air Quality
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| Hardware |
Raspberry Pi, Arduino Uno, Gravity Shield and sensors (2 lab groups with 2 setups per class - 14 students each. Would be excellent to borrow more mobile nodes to split the class further.)
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| Software |
COSMOS toolkit framework, Chronograf and InfluxDB
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| Number of Sessions to teach the topic |
- 2 - 3
55-minute sessions.
- 1 - 2
Additional sessions outside of regular class time (e.g. meeting with a small group of students during lunch period to collect data).
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| Educational standards to be addressed |
- PS4.C:
Information Technologies and Instrumentation. Digitized signals (sent as wave pulses) are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information. (MS-PS4-3)
- PS3.D:
Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life. Cellular respiration in plants and animals involves chemical reactions with oxygen that release stored energy. In these processes, complex molecules containing carbon react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and other materials. (secondary to MS-LS1-7)
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| COSMOS concepts to be used for the lab |
- Present:
Wireless signals - transmitting data using a wireless signal.
- Future:
Scientific experimentation on a wireless testbed taking advantage of the capabilities of a testbed to collect lots of data over a longer period of time using environmental sensors attached to nodes.
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| K12 Educational Goals (How the educational goals are achieved through teaching using the experiment, how the topic is connected to the COSMOS concepts used) |
Students learn about the relationship between CO2 and air quality by gathering wireless data from sensors. (Higher CO2 levels correlate with poorer air quality and more negative health effects on humans.) They learn how this data will be transmitted through a wireless network to a graphical user interface. They will also learn how this technology will be further implemented as a wide-scale experiment onto the COSMOS testbed using the capabilities provided by it. Students present their findings, make recommendations for action steps for the school community and neighborhood. They also explore how their experiment with CO2 levels can be implemented on a larger scale.
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| Short Description and Walk-through of the experiment |
- Students begin by exploring the importance of indoor air quality at its influence on health and wellbeing by watching several videos/news reports on the topic.
- Students are introduced to the carbon dioxide molecule and briefly review the chemical reaction (respiration) that produces it. (Note: there are other sources of CO2 besides respiration.)
- Students brainstorm lists of locations to compare CO2 levels (proxy for air quality) around the school and outside the building.
- Students use the mobile node to collect data about CO2 levels, humidity, and temperature.
- Smaller groups of students meet outside of class (e.g. lunch time) to collect data at locations around the neighborhood such as the Recess Yard, park, subway, etc.
- Students analyze their data using basic statistics (range, mean) and state any patterns or correlations they see.
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| Testbed mapping of the experiment |
Environmental sensors - specifically for air and surface temperatures as well as PM - are installed on COSMOS Testbed nodes. Students analyze this data and compare it to data collected by the city and National Weather Service as well as the NY Department of Environmental Conservation.
In the future, students will be able to log into the COSMOS testbed and sign up for a data collection window. They will also be able to compare the data collected from COSMOS Testbed nodes with their own data collected in and around the school once the COSMOS Testbed nodes are fully installed and operational.
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