Roger Frost's Technology for teaching science

Category: handling data

This section is about doing more with the data you collect from experiments using sensors. In a way, understanding the information that sensors provide is a big reason for going to all this trouble. If you see a graph here you’ll very likely be able to download the file to import into Excel or other software. Do use the tags or keywords to search for your topic.

handling data

latent heat – salty ice

When it is icy they put salt onto the roads to melt the ice. What the salt does is to depress, or reduce, the freezing point of water. The result is that the ice...

handling data

data on the planets

Datasets (files) like the one below are useful in science. There is data to analyse by drawing graphs. The file below is in a ‘CSV’ format. Open it in your spreadsheet or Datalogging Insight program...

handling data

tip for graphing with Excel

Sometimes you need to graph several variables one after the other – for example, in this weather database, we plotted the daily maximum temperature against time. For clarity, we plotted just 10 days.Next we...

handling data

data on the periodic table

Datasets (files) like the one below are useful in science. There is data to analyse by drawing graphs. The file below is in a ‘CSV’ format. Open it in your spreadsheet or Datalogging Insight program...

handling data

data on pupil heights and weights

Datasets (files) like the one below are useful in science. They have data to analyse by drawing graphs. The file below is in a ‘CSV’ format. Open it in your spreadsheet or Datalogging Insight program...

handling data

data on breakfast cereals

Datasets (files) like the one below are useful in science. They have data to analyse by drawing graphs. The file below is in a ‘CSV’ format. Open this one in your spreadsheet or Datalogging Insight...

handling data

monitor fermentation in a compost heap

Is mown grass in the compost heap really dead? When you cut the grass you remove its source of vital materials and the cut leaf ‘dies’. But when you feel a pile of cut...

handling data

freezing a bun or bread roll

We scientists do the strangest of things. We wanted to see the temperature changes when you freeze and thaw things. So we took a ‘bun’ (a bread roll), placed temperature sensors in and around...

handling data

cart rolling down a slope

A cart rolling down a hill certainly has energy which in turn affects its speed. But how does this speed change when you start the car off from a different point on the hill....

handling data

pendulum swings or bobbing masses

We used a turn (or position) sensor connected to the computer and recorded the swings of a pendulum made of a metal rod and a weight. We tried again this time connecting the sensor...

handling data

heating ice

You would think that when you heat up ice that it gets warmer bit by bit. And maybe that the more you heat it the hotter it gets. Well it’s not like that. We...

handling data

a cooling curve

I expect that when something cools, it will get cooler in a plodding kind of way. That’s true, but when something changes state, the cooling is not so steady.The graph below shows how liquid...

handling data

keep the house warm

We need to keep our homes warm in cold weather. We also need to do this as economically as possible. There are several ways to insulate your home and keep the heat in, and...

handling data

day and night light & temperature

What time does it get light in the morning? When does it get dark? Is the central heating working? I just had to know, so I took my data logging equipment and started to...

handling data

add the milk to tea now or later?

The dilemma is this: the telephone range as I was making tea. Should I add the milk now or 5 minutes later, after I took the call? One way of answering this is to...

handling data

checking a TV remote controller

An infrared remote control unit sends messages, using infrared ‘light’ to recorders and televisions. Point a remote controller at a light sensor and it may be able to pick up the signal. This likely works...

handling data

pH data on souring milk

The label on my milk bottle tells me how long the milk will ‘last’ at different temperatures. What do they measure to make this assessment? Is it the pH? I summoned patience, collected a glass...

handling data

why we use IT in science teaching (1994)

Scientists need to measure and communicate, to handle information and model ideas. In essence, they need to process information. Young scientists have similar needs. When they write, draw graphs, do maths and make measurements,...

handling data

preparing for science year (2001)

Fast forward to the future in Science Year  Feature by Roger Frost for The Guardian (2001) Aiming for a world-record, Science Year kicked off on Friday 7th Sept as pupils across the land engaged...

handling data

lots of graphs and results

Here are screenshots from experiments we’ve tried over the years. You may find a worksheet for the experiment by searching for the topic or by trawling here. You can download the files for many of...

handling data

about the ‘sid’ file format

Q. What is SID? A. It’s a standard file format that every data logging manufacturer is encouraged to support. The results of data logging experiments can be better shared in the ‘SID’ format. This...

handling data / hardware

data logging software choices

The sensors and equipment you buy for school requires software made for it. There IS a generic program, called Insight (below). which works with lots of different manufacturer’s kit. It has the advantage of...

handling data

data you can analyse

I find it educational to look at results collected by others. This is the page from which you can download the results of our experiments using sensors. They are real, often messy, results, and collected...