Lesson Overview

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the ultrasonic sensor and learn the use of if-else statements in coding. Students will learn how to: 

• Read values from an ultrasonic sensor

• Use if-else statements to provide different outputs

Required Kit Supplies

• 1x Arduino Mega R3

• 1x USB A-to-USB B cable

• 1x Breadboard

• 1x Ultrasonic sensor

• 3x LEDs (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green)

• 3x 220 Ω resistors

•  Male to Male (M-M) wires

Additional Required Supplies 

• Chromebook or laptop for each student

  • Arduino IDE installed or

  • Access to Arduino web editor with Arduino Create Agent installed

• 1x Ruler

Keywords

• Ultrasonic: Refers to sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper limit of human hearing, typically above 20,000 Hz.

• Signal conditioning: The process of preparing an output signal for a sensor, receiving the input signal from the sensor, and comparing the two to interpret the sensor's readings accurately. This ensures the data from the sensor is usable by the system.

• Calibration: A process used to set up a sensor to ensure that the electrical values it reads accurately reflect real-world measurements, thus aligning the sensor's readings with known reference values. 

• Conditional statement: A programming instruction that performs different actions based on whether a specified condition is true or false, and allows the program to execute certain functions only when certain conditions are met.

• Boolean: A variable type that is used to store True or False values.

Additional External Resources

• Using the Arduino Web Editor

  • Using the Arduino Cloud Editor | Arduino Documentation

• Introduction to Programming an Arduino

  • Getting Started with Arduino | Arduino Documentation

• Arduino Syntax

  • Arduino Reference - Arduino Reference

• Conditional Statements

  • If Statement (Conditional Statement) | Arduino Documentation

• Speed of Sound/Ultrasonic sensor

  • Measuring Speed of Sound Using Echoes | GCSE Physics (youtube.com)

  • How an ultrasonic sensor works | Sensor Partners