1

.docx

School

Iowa State University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

160

Subject

Computer Science

Date

Apr 3, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by ChefRatPerson1118

Lab DLT – Digital lab tools • The digital lab notebook Computers crash, that’s just a fact of life. Save your work regularly throughout the lab . Paper is not banned! Before we go into the digital notebook, we want to emphasize that sometimes, it is simply easier to figure out things with paper and pencil. You should always have them available during the lab. Just make sure that you then enter the information on the digital notebook. • Normal text The notebook is a Microsoft Word document. You can also edit it with Google Docs. Students are expected to be proficient with the most basic components. Your notes should in general be inside the provided gray spaces, so they are easy to distinguish from the rest. Enter your name in the box below. Marcus Skidmore For everything else that we expect students to need during the labs, there is an Icon on the Quick Access Toolbar at the very top of the window (when you use Word in the lab computers). α Quick Access: Or: Insert tab and select Symbol. Enter below one Greek letter, the symbol for infinity, and a minus sign (note that it is longer than a dash). Ω∞−

• Tables Quick Access: Or: Insert tab and select Table. Data should always be orderly displayed in tables, including proper labels and units. However, most of the time you should produce your data tables with Logger Pro, since this software provides data analysis and graphing tools, and is thus superior to a “static” table. In section 4 of this lab, we will go over the Logger Pro basics. • Equations Quick Access: Or: Insert tab and select Equation. Insert below the following formula: For long calculations, it is perfectly acceptable to do them on paper and insert a (good) photograph of the calculations. Even better: use a scanning app (like Adobe Scan) to turn the photograph into a clean scan before inserting it. It is NOT acceptable to use hard-to-read options like sqrt(t^2-alpha^2)/3. Your instructor is a regular human whose brain does not run on HTML. • Sketches, images and the Snipping Tool Digital notebooks are convenient and green, but sometimes we just need a space to sketch things. Each lab computer has a small graphical tablet to draw sketches and diagrams. You can also do your sketches on a piece of paper and insert a (good) photograph. Microsoft Word has a tool called Draw or Ink Tools, depending on the version. Using this tool, you can now draw anywhere on the page. Draw something below.

Sometimes you will just want to transfer an image (like a snapshot of a graph) to the notebook. You could always save a JPG or PDF file, and then insert it in the Word document. However, there is an easier and faster option: use the Snipping Tool (on the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen) or any similar screen-capture tool to take snapshots of any portion of your screen. Then, copy the snip and paste it into your notebook. Readjust the image as needed (resize, crop, etc.) Use the Snipping Tool to capture anything you would like and insert it below. • Data collection Data will be collected from a variety of sources. The methods go from simple processes like reading a ruler, all the way to digital sensors connected to the computer. When sensors are used, the data is automatically collected in a software called Logger Pro . This software is in all lab and help room computers, and we will use it for data analysis. You can also download and install Logger Pro on your computer. The links and instructions to do so are at the bottom of the home page on Canvas, under “Helpful stuff”. Alternative software: once you are home, you are allowed to use other data analysis softwares of your choice to complete the data analysis. We provide some basic guidance for Google Sheets (see “Helpful stuff” on Canvas), but instructors might not be able to help you with these alternative softwares. Please note that while in the labs, you must work with Logger Pro. • Logger Pro: collecting data through sensors Whenever we use sensors that send data directly to the computer, you will need to use Logger Pro for the data collection. If a .cmbl file(s) is provided on Canvas for the experiment , use that file to open the software, to ensure that you are working with the appropriate predefined settings. Example: On Canvas, this lab’s module includes a file called Sample.cmbl . Download it and open it. In a “real” lab, this will simply provide the appropriate settings for Logger Pro. In this case, we also included some data. What is the title of the graph? Enter it in the space below. Dampened Harmonic Oscillates

• No sensors If the data is collected manually, you should enter it directly on LoggerPro (more details on the software below). • Data analysis • Basic Logger Pro tools Open the file Logger Pro Help.pdf . This document is included next to this notebook, but it is also posted under “Helpful Stuff”. The following tasks will guide you through the most basic procedures in Logger Pro. • Modify tables and enter data • On the table, double click on the Time column. In the Column Definition tab, change the units to minutes. • Double click on the Displacement ( x ) column. This is a Calculated Column. It is generated from the formula in the Expression box. We will work on an example of a Calculated Column below. In the meantime, in the Options tab, change the Point symbol to a different shape and select a different color. • On the top toolbar, select Data and Add Manual Column, with the following parameters: Name: Time 2 Short Nm: t2 Units: s Once the column is created, add 5 random values between 0 and 10. • Select Data again, and Add Calculated Column, with the following parameters: Name: Displacement 2 Short Nm: x2 Units: m Expression: , which should be entered as 3*”Time 2”+2+sin(“Time 2”) Note that “Time 2” can be either typed or selected from the drop menu of Variables (Columns). If you cut and paste from the notebook, you will get the wrong type of quotation marks and thus an error… • Modify graphs • Right-click on the graph and select Graph Options. In the Graph Options tab, and: • Change the title of the graph to whatever you fancy. • Explore the “Connect Points” option. As you can see, the connecting lines can be misleading if the data is not “in order” (in this case, note in the table that t = 100 and t = 200 are in the “wrong” places.)

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version