Welcome to this introduction to SPARKvue,
PASCO's data collection and analysis software
for the science classroom.
Join me to learn core SPARKvue features
used in many experiments across the sciences.
[SPARKvue | Get Started]
SPARKvue works pretty much the same
across all computing platforms.
So if you'd like to follow along,
get SPARKvue on your device,
and grab these materials if you have them:
a wireless temperature sensor,
a small cup or beaker, and some hot water.
If you have a different sensor,
you can still try following along
using another measurement instead.
When you launch the program,
you're greeted by this welcome screen of various ways
to use SPARKvue.
Since we'll collect and display live data from our sensor,
let's choose the Sensor Data path.
This brings us to the Sensor Data Configuration screen.
If you're using an earlier generation of wired sensor
like this PASPORT Temperature Sensor,
connect the sensor to an interface,
and the interface to your computing device.
SPARKvue will detect your sensor.
If you have a wireless sensor, simply turn it on.
And in SPARKvue, the panel to the left
will open automatically
listing the available PASCO wireless devices.
Identify your sensor by its six-digit ID
and select to connect.
Either way, your sensor will appear in this center column
and its measurements will be listed beneath it.
My sensor has only one measurement, temperature.
Next, ensure that your measurement of interest is checked
and head over to the templates in the upper right.
When you select one of these templates,
SPARKvue will create these data displays for the measurement
or measurements selected in the center column.
In this case, choose Table and Graph.
SPARKvue creates an experiment file with those two displays
for the selected measurement, temperature.
The table, with columns of time and temperature,
and the graph, with axes of temperature versus time,
appear in this central space called the workbook.
Above and below the workbook are these blue bars
with menus and tools for managing files and workbook pages,
connecting additional wireless sensors,
controlling sampling options,
starting and stopping data collection,
coding, and managing data.
Right below the workbook space is this Live Data Bar,
which shows the current sensor reading.
My temperature sensor's probe is in the air right now
and I can see that it's a fairly steady
25.4 degrees Celsius.
I'm curious how much warmer this hot water is
so I'll pour some into the beaker.
To record data to answer that question,
press the green Start button.
SPARKvue begins recording data into the file,
displaying it in both the table and graph.
From either display,
I see that the temperature in air is indeed steady.
So after a few seconds,
I'll move the temperature sensor's probe
into the beaker of hot water to see how it changes.
Each dot on the graph is a temperature reading
which, from the table,
you can see is recorded once every half second,
or at a sample rate of two Hertz, or two samples per second.
Every sensor has a default sample rate
that's appropriate for many experiments.
Notice that the graph axes automatically move and scale
to keep new data in view.
Manually move the data using the cursor
or a finger on a touchscreen device.
Click and drag in the middle of the graph to move it around.
For instance, focus on the most recent data points
by clicking and dragging down and to the left.
Rescale the graph axes directly
by clicking and dragging on the axis values.
I'll zoom in on the y-axis.
And now I can see that the temperature has plateaued
and even seems to be going back down slightly.
To get all data back into view quickly,
open the graph toolbar and press the leftmost tool,
Scale to Fit.
Now that I have the measurements I need
to answer my question,
I'll press Stop to end data collection.
All the data points recorded between pressing Start and Stop
are collected in Run #1,
as indicated here in the graph legend.
To point out a notable event in the run,
select the Annotate button from the graph toolbar
and type a note.
[moved from air to water]
Grab the tool's gray handle to direct the note
to an appropriate data point.
Move the note label, too, by clicking and dragging.
Use the Coordinates tool
to determine the temperature readings in the air
and in the hot water.
Add a Coordinates tool from the toolbar
or directly by clicking on a data point
and selecting the Coordinates tool from the popup buttons.
To have SPARKvue calculate the change,
delete one of the Coordinates tools,
and click on the other to reveal the hidden
but powerful Delta tool.
Drag the new Delta tool handle to a different data point,
and it calculates the difference in x- and y- values
between the two points.
So this hot water was 54.5 degrees warmer than the air.
What would you like to explore next with your sensor
and new SPARKvue skills?
I'm curious about the nature of the cooling
that I noticed at the end of Run #1.
With the temperature sensor still in the beaker of water,
I'd like to record a second run of data.
I could simply press Start.
But first, I expect that this run will need to be longer
to clearly see the cooling.
So I'd like to change a couple of sampling options here.
Change the rate at which data is collected
by adjusting the sample rate.
Slower than one hertz (Hz) or one sample every second,
the display changes to show the sample interval.
So with this setting,
SPARKvue will record one sample every five seconds.
You can also set SPARKvue to automatically start
or stop recording after a specified condition is met.
To automatically stop data collection after five minutes,
open the Stop Condition, select a Time Based condition,
and enter five minutes
With those changes to the sampling options,
press Start again to begin recording a second run of data
to see if that cooling trend continues.
Notice that Run #1 disappears from the graph
by default when a new run is recorded to minimize clutter.
It's still available though, as shown here in the legend.
View it again by checking its visibility check box
to the left of the run name.
You may also notice
that the graph analysis tools are not available
while data is being recorded.
They can be used again after recording stops.
If you ever want to use analysis tools
on a previous run,
first click on that run's symbol in the legend
to make it the active run as shown by the red box.
Analysis tools apply to the active run
which is the most recent run by default.
Since this data collection will continue for a while,
change the units on the x-axis from seconds to minutes
to more easily interpret the x-axis values.
I will fast forward until just before the stop condition
at five minutes.
And with five minutes of data collected,
the cooling trend is clear.
Determine a typical rate of temperature change
by turning on a linear curve fit
which shows the slope, m, indicating an overall cooling rate
of about 2.2 degrees Celsius per minute.
Clearly though, overall,
this cooling trend is not quite linear.
Change your cursor to Select mode with this toggle,
and drag a selection box over the initial section of data.
The linear fit updates to analyze
only the portion highlighted inside the selection box.
Move the selection box to determine
that the rate of cooling decreases over time.
If a linear fit is not appropriate for the data,
explore the graph's other curve fit options
to build a better model for the phenomenon you've measured.
To save this file for future analysis
or further data collection,
select the main menu and save.
SPARKlab files can be opened on any device with SPARKvue.
I hope that you now have the confidence to use SPARKvue
to ask and answer your own questions
about the world around you.
Visit the SPARKvue product page at pasco.com
for additional resources.
Thanks for watching.