What to expect

Visualizing data points is an essential aspect of data analysis. In this activity, we will use the data points collected by the Kitronik AQ board from five locations. We can identify patterns and trends by adding data points to a graph. 

Connections

Collecting data at different locations is a common way to study air quality in a particular environment. The Kitronik air quality board is an excellent tool as it can continuously monitor multiple parameters, including pressure, IAQ, humidity, and eCO2, in different environmental conditions. We set up the Kitronik air quality board in the previous activity to collect the measurements from several locations. During this period, you recorded the data to review the indoor air quality levels at these locations. Now, we can use data visualization techniques such as line graphs, scatter plots, and histograms to understand the trends and patterns in the data. For example, we can create a line graph that shows how the pressure, IAQ, humidity, and eCO2 levels change over time or create a bar graph to compare air quality at different locations. By examining the chart, we can observe any significant changes in these parameters and investigate the possible causes of these changes. Overall, analyzing the data collected by the Kitronik air quality board can help us better understand the air quality in a particular environment and identify any potential health risks associated with poor air quality. 

Materials

• Micro:bit

• Kitronik air quality board

• Google sheets

Instructions

Using the data you collected last week, we will visualize this data by plotting them on a graph.  If you did not use Google Sheets last week you'll need to copy and past your data into Google Sheets

4. Now create humidity, temperature, pressure, and eCO2 graphs. Since these are all measured in different units, please make a separate graph for each.

Extension Activity

Long-term data collection

There is another extension activity that will be useful for longer-term data collection. Collecting air quality data over a more extended period can give you a better idea of how it changes over a certain period. You can download the code to program your Kitronik AQ board to save the collected data. Here are a couple of suggestions helpful for this extension activity. 

1. You need to set the date and time in the program before you download, as the time stamps will be posted with the data measurements. It is programmed to collect one measurement per hour. 

2. Once you download the program, wait 5 minutes to set up the gas sensor and establish the gas baseline & ambient temperature.  Once it’s ready, you will see “✓” on the micro:bit display, and data collection begins. 

3. It is programmed to collect temperature, humidity, and indoor air quality, but you can modify it to add more parameters.

4. Once you are done with the data measurements after the winter break, you need to turn off the AQ board.  Then you turn it on and connect the micro:bit to the computer. 

5. Now download the coding again to “transfer” the collected data to your computer. Wait for 5 minutes as you did in Step 2.  Once it’s ready, press the “B” Button to transfer the data.  

6. By pressing the “B” button, you will see “Show data” on the screen.  Press it to see the collected data. This button is at the lower left corner, as shown in Figure 1.