Create an EMG Sensor Activity
Summary
Materials
- EMG PowerPoint
- Science Experiments 05 EMG Sensor
- Micro:bits
- Alligator clips
- Aluminum foil
- Tape
Instructional Activities and Classroom Assessments
- Create an EMG Sensor (15 minutes)
- Evaluate Data (25 minutes)
- Reflection (10 minutes)
Learning Objectives
- DAT 1-A Explain how data can be represented using bits.
Essential Knowledge
- DAT-1.A.7 The same sequence of bits may represent different types of data in different contexts.
- DAT-1.A.8 Analog data have values that change smoothly, rather than in discrete intervals, over time. Some examples of analog data include pitch and volume of music, colors of a painting, or position of a sprinter during a race.
- DAT-1.A.9 The use of digital data to approximate real-world analog data is an example of abstraction.
Details
1. Create an EMG Sensor (15 minutes)
- Explain that analog data is not only sound and images.
- Explain that we can also measure analog data like electrical currents in muscle movements.
- Define what electromyography tests do.
- Play the video showing how to create an EMG sensor.
- Pause throughout the video to make sure students have completed each step.
2. Evaluate Data (25 minutes)
- Encourage students to examine what happens when they flex their muscle in different ways.
- Encourage students to try the EMG on different muscles.
- Encourage students to compare their data to others' data.
3. Reflection (10 minutes)
- Encourage students to share their observations.
- Ask students to apply what they have learned to think of other analog data that can be collected using computing devices.