The recent use of Arduino Uno microcontroller boards for automated data acquisition has revolutionized physics education. The Arduino-based physics labs have dramatically lowered the cost of the experimental equipment, while at the same time replacing the commercial apparatus with open hardware and software. Students benefit greatly from rigorous technology-based labs that also nourish their curiosity and motivation to pursue STEM-based careers. In this article we describe the use of the DS18B20 digital temperature sensor in conjunction with an Arduino Uno board in order to explore Newton’s law of cooling.
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The DS18B20 datasheet can be downloaded from
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The OneWire library and the related Arduino tutorial are posted at
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On the TPT Online website, on the web page of this article, there are three files available under the Supplemental tab, https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5080580 . The file 618_appendix I.pdf presents a detailed technical description of the DS18B20 sensor, an overview of the Arduino program, and a listing of the Arduino program. The file 618_supp.ino is the actual Arduino sketch. The file 618_appendix II.pdf provides the template and the grading rubric for the lab report.
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2018
American Association of Physics Teachers
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