Diseño de práctica de laboratorio para uso de la creatividad: Canal de olas

Abstract

This paper describes the experiences of teachers teaching Physics II Laboratory, at the School of Marine Sciences of the UABC, in which the student modifies a device in order to measure the water level in a wave tank. The students are only allowed to use a computer mouse as a sensor. The students have access to a piece of MATLAB code that reads the number of pixels that the mouse has been moved. Using that code and their creativity, the students must modify the mouse to obtain a device that directly measures the movement of the water surface and, in doing so, registers the characteristics of the water waves in the tank. It is important to note that the oceanography program does not include courses in electronics, so students cannot build a data acquisition card. This experiment covers various educational factors allowing students to adapt a device in order to construct their own gauge to directly measure a phenomenon and to record digitally, encouraging the reuse of technology for profit and the innovation of alternative uses for the mouse in the measurement of physical variables.