In this article, a low-cost and pocket-sized
setup for measuring
CO2 is presented. This setup is based on Arduinos, making
it economic and open to modifications or improvements that satisfy
other needs. It is composed of an Arduino board, a CO2 sensor,
an SD-card module, and a control panel. The device has been tested
in three different experimental contexts that are typically used in
primary and secondary science education: chemical reactions, plant
photosynthesis and respiration, and gas diffusion. Results show major
potential for the device, both for promoting students’ model-based
inquiry and for encouraging students to build their own devices and
develop engineering practices. The other advantages of the proposal,
compared with commercial data loggers, are also discussed.
This paper presents the case for how students can be helped to increase their scientific vocation by experimental work and the introduction of particle physics into pre-university studies. These two ideas are the two main lines of work of the ADMIRA initiative, which has been created by individuals belonging to different and complementary educational and research institutions. The initiative consists of a network of schools that share Minipix devices, a readout system for the Timepix detector designed at CERN in the framework of the Medipix2 Collaboration. The schools receive logistical and technical support from the local University (the University of Barcelona) and from CERN. The centres involved and the objectives, as well as the characteristics of the project are presented. The technical and didactic materials available are also shown. Finally, some initiative data has been analysed to show its rapid growth, and some students’ research is presented showing the diversity of tasks that can be done with such detectors.
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