Electricity And Arduino Programming
Project overview: This was an inquiry based project that started with partners in groups of two, working alone on a packet. This packet introduced us to the basics of circuits and questioned us on what we knew as well as taught us in detail about how they function. After completing this packet on paper, we moved onto working with breadboards to create circuits. When this idea became to complicated for our class we switched to spark fun. Spark fun is a program that works together with Arduino to let us set up circuits on a breadboard and then program them using the computer. After completing the short book of circuits that spark fun gave us, we started to experiment with our own coding and circuit set ups. The goal of our project was to create and code our own circuit on the breadboard and present it to the class.
Our Project: My partner Nolan and I decided we wanted to have our program flash LED lights in sync with a song. We chose the theme song from the game "Megaman" and had eight lights flashing in sync with the tune. In order to complete this task we had to individually program each note in the song, and then figure out how to have a light flash along with it. Since neither I or my partner had a vast knowledge of music, we had to find a website that gave us the note in terms of code. In the end we achieved our goal and had a breadboard with 8 led lights and multiple wires. The "Megaman" theme song played for around 15 seconds and had 8 different colored LED lights flashing along with it.
Electricity Concepts:
Circuit: A complete loop of conductive material with a power source
Resistors: Poor conductors that reduce voltage (light bulbs)
Voltage: Power from electricity, the push and pull of electricity
Series Circuits: Uses less electricity because each bulb is extra resistance. Voltage changes but current stays the same.
Parallel Circuits: Uses more electricity because as the amount of bulbs rises, the resistance goes down.
Breadboard: Vertical rows are connected in the outer columns on the left and right sides. Horizontal rows are connected in the center columns.
Resistors Code:
First Band = 1st Digit
Second Band = 2nd Digit
Third Band = Number of Zeros in the Amount of Resistance
Fourth Band = Tolerance
Ohm's Law: Voltage = Current x Resistance (V=IR)
Kirchoff's First Rule: The total current out of a node equals the total current into the node.
Reflection: This project was not, in my opinion, as fun as some of the others. It involved a good amount of time staring at a computer screen and typing the same thing numerous times. The setting up of circuits on the breadboard was the high point of this project. I say this because it was a constant challenge to figure out how to set up the circuit and to determine if it worked properly. My partner and I did one thing very well and that was completing the coding for multiple different songs and light patterns as well as our main project. However, we did a have a few problems as well. We often found ourselves talking with other groups and not working, and we found it hard to work on the same tedious task for a whole two periods. We would work for the entire first period and a half and then stop because we couldn't concentrate after looking at the same screen for an hour and a half. Over all even though this project was not my favorite, it was still a great learning experience that could not only help me in my future but also turn into a potential career if I became interested enough.
Our Project: My partner Nolan and I decided we wanted to have our program flash LED lights in sync with a song. We chose the theme song from the game "Megaman" and had eight lights flashing in sync with the tune. In order to complete this task we had to individually program each note in the song, and then figure out how to have a light flash along with it. Since neither I or my partner had a vast knowledge of music, we had to find a website that gave us the note in terms of code. In the end we achieved our goal and had a breadboard with 8 led lights and multiple wires. The "Megaman" theme song played for around 15 seconds and had 8 different colored LED lights flashing along with it.
Electricity Concepts:
Circuit: A complete loop of conductive material with a power source
Resistors: Poor conductors that reduce voltage (light bulbs)
Voltage: Power from electricity, the push and pull of electricity
Series Circuits: Uses less electricity because each bulb is extra resistance. Voltage changes but current stays the same.
Parallel Circuits: Uses more electricity because as the amount of bulbs rises, the resistance goes down.
Breadboard: Vertical rows are connected in the outer columns on the left and right sides. Horizontal rows are connected in the center columns.
Resistors Code:
First Band = 1st Digit
Second Band = 2nd Digit
Third Band = Number of Zeros in the Amount of Resistance
Fourth Band = Tolerance
Ohm's Law: Voltage = Current x Resistance (V=IR)
Kirchoff's First Rule: The total current out of a node equals the total current into the node.
Reflection: This project was not, in my opinion, as fun as some of the others. It involved a good amount of time staring at a computer screen and typing the same thing numerous times. The setting up of circuits on the breadboard was the high point of this project. I say this because it was a constant challenge to figure out how to set up the circuit and to determine if it worked properly. My partner and I did one thing very well and that was completing the coding for multiple different songs and light patterns as well as our main project. However, we did a have a few problems as well. We often found ourselves talking with other groups and not working, and we found it hard to work on the same tedious task for a whole two periods. We would work for the entire first period and a half and then stop because we couldn't concentrate after looking at the same screen for an hour and a half. Over all even though this project was not my favorite, it was still a great learning experience that could not only help me in my future but also turn into a potential career if I became interested enough.