Lab Name Measures of Center, Variability & Types of Statistical Graphs Using Experiments on the Effect of Noise in the Communication System.
Subject Area Mathematics
Grade 6 and 7
Topic Measures of Center, Variability & Types of Statistical Graphs.
Experiment Title Finding the measures of central tendency & variability with the use of statistical graphs in analyzing the results/findings of the experiment.
Hardware
  • COSMOS Toolkit: Computer Node
Software
  • COSMOS Toolkit: Framework
  • GNU Radio Companion
Number of Sessions to teach the topic 5 - 6 sessions
Educational standards to be addressed
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.4
    Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5
    Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context.
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.SP.B.3
    Informally assess the degree of visual overlap of two numerical data distributions with similar variabilities, measuring the difference between the centers by expressing it as a multiple of a measure of variability.
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.SP.B.4
    Use measures of center and measures of variability for numerical data from random samples to draw informal comparative inferences about two populations.
COSMOS concepts to be used for the lab Frequency, voltage, noise, decibel (dB), transmitter amplitude, noise amplitude, environmental noise, health hazards, noise path, receiver, noise source, PSK modulated signal, Constellation diagram.
K12 Educational Goals (How the educational goals are achieved through teaching using the experiment, how the topic is connected to the COSMOS concepts used) Students will be using the simple classroom activity/research on types of environmental noise and apply concepts of measures of central tendency, variability & statistical graphs.

COSMOS toolkit will be used for the application of these math concepts to analyzing noise in the communication system.
Short Description and Walk-through of the experiment 5-6 Sessions:
  • Day 1 Discussion & brainstorming on types of noise in the environment. Research on the effects of these noise to health and environment.
  • Day 2 Students will explore the effects of noise in the communication system by doing the experiment on psk-noise.grc and observe changes in the graphs as they change the noise amplitude and transmit signal amplitude. Graphic organizer will be provided to see what they are expected to record during the entire experiment. ( 2 symbols ).
  • Day 3 Continue exploring the experiment by doing 4 symbols in this session.
  • Day 4-5 Project Extension:
    • Part 1: Explore the 16 symbols and record data using graphic organizer and guide questions. Share the results in Google Classroom through powerpoint presentations.
    • Part 2: Using the noise sensor, students will explore areas that are really noisy and record data. They will present the findings using any appropriate statistical graphs and find measures of center & variabilities.
Testbed mapping of the experiment The experiment can be extended by executing it using the COSMOS toolkit investigating the effects of noise in the communication system with 2, 4 and 16 symbols as well as use the noise sensor to measure different types of noise produce in the environment.

Experiment Execution

Select the desired number of symbols (i.e., 2 or 4 or 16) you would like to observe the constellation points and press START. In order to terminate the experiment press STOP.

PSK Modulation
2 Symbols 4 Symbols 16 Symbols

Experiment Material

NGSS Lesson Plan
Worksheet
Other

© 2018 COSMOS Project. Created by Juditha Capa Damiao, Joseph F. Lamb School