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Phy 232
Your 'timer program' report has been received. Scroll down through the document to see any comments I might have inserted, and my final comment at the end.
** TIMER program_labelMessages **
5/29/12 due by 5/29/12 submitted around
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About 1 hour
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DO NOT COPY THE LINES ABOVE THIS ONE. JUST FILL THOSE LINES IN WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOUR RESULTS AT THE END OF THIS FORM.
• Follow the instructions, fill in your data and the results of your analysis in the given format.
• Regularly save your document to your computer as you work.
• When you have completed your work:
Highlight the contents of the text editor, and copy and paste those contents into the indicated box at the end of this form.
Click the Submit button and save your form confirmation.
This experiment is self-explanatory. Student report time of completion ranging from 10 minutes to 1 hour, with 30 minutes being the most typical.
Downloading and/or running the TIMER program
If you have a Macintosh computer the preferred timer.exe program might not work (it will if your computer has a Windows emulator), but the alternative Java applet should work just fine.
timer.exe
The program timer.exe should be downloaded to your hard drive and/or flash drive so you have access to it whenever you need it.
There is an alternative Java applet (see the heading timer java applet below) , but the .exe option is preferable. It is worth 15 minutes of effort to get the program working on your hard drive, after which you will have it and won't need Internet access to run it. It will start up instantly, it runs in a small window, and it has the ability to file your data. However if you can't get it working in 15 minutes with the instructions given below, just move on the the Java version.
To use the Windows version:
If you are using a Windows PC, or a Mac with Windows emulator, first take a few seconds to run the program q a prelim. As soon as the form opens on your screen, you can close it. Nothing needs to be submitted. The first thing this program does is to create the c:\vhmthphy folder on your hard drive. As an alternative you can also create a c:\vhmthphy folder.
The timer.exe program opens in a small window and can be run side-by-side with other windows applications on your computer (just size the second window so it leaves room for the Timer program).
Run the program now. If it fails to work then try the following, in order:
• If you got the Run-time Error 76, it can be corrected by the step given earlier. That instruction is repeated below:
Run the program q a prelim. As soon as the form opens on your screen, you can close it. Nothing needs to be submitted. The first thing this program does is to create the c:\vhmthphy folder on your hard drive. As an alternative you can manually create this folder.
• If this doesn't work, follow the link COMDLG32 to access simple instructions for fixing the problem. Then run timer.exe .
To use the Java version:
Windows users:
The Java applet does require that the Java Runtime Environment be installed. Almost every Apple computer, and most Windows computers, will have this environment installed. If your computer will not run the Java applet, the installation is simple and quick. If you search under 'Java Runtime Environment', using any search engine, you will find information on the Java Runtime Environment and on the installation. You should satisfy yourself that you are downloading from a verifiable, trusted source.
Mac users:
Apple supplies their own version of Java. Use the Software Update feature (available on the Apple menu) to check that you have the most up-to-date version of Java for your Mac.
should check the Apple site for the Software Update feature (available on the Apple menu) to check that you have the most up-to-date version of Java for your Mac.
The Java Applet at the link Timer-Java will work fine for the current experiment, and will do just about everything the timer.exe program will do. The Java applet has a few more or less minor inconveniences and one that's not quite as minor:
• You can't put the Java applet on your hard drive or flash drive, so you have to pull it off the Web every time you want to use it.
• The applet won't file your data. However it will let you copy and paste your data into a text editor.
• If your machine doesn't run Java applets, you would have to set it up to do so (just search the web under 'Java Runtime Environment', which is free and installs easily). This software is pretty standard, and is already installed on most machines.
Operating the TIMER program
It is easy to operate the Timer program. All you have to do is click on the button labeled Click to Time Event.
Click that button about 10 times and describe what you see.
I see number sets corresponding to the times from which I initially started and clicked to time. There are 4 different boxes the first box (from left to right) is the number of times I clicked to time. The second box is the initial time plus the time added after the click to time. The third box is the amount of time between each click to time. The forth box contains all the information from the first three boxes.
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Now click on Initialize Counter, which will clear all the data from the timer window. Click the mouse as fast as you can until the TIMER window fills up. Be sure you get at least 20 time intervals.
If you miss a click, try again. Keep trying until you get at least 20 intervals without a missed or delayed click.
Copy your data starting in the next line:
1 6.207031 6.207031
2 6.328125 .1210938
3 6.453125 .125
4 6.554688 .1015625
5 6.640625 .0859375
6 6.738281 9.765625E-02
7 6.851563 .1132813
8 6.9375 .0859375
9 7.035156 9.765625E-02
10 7.121094 .0859375
11 7.222656 .1015625
12 7.320313 9.765625E-02
13 7.40625 .0859375
14 7.507813 .1015625
15 7.59375 .0859375
16 7.691406 9.765625E-02
17 7.765625 7.421875E-02
18 7.863281 9.765625E-02
19 7.941406 .078125
20 8.039063 9.765625E-02
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You got at least 20 time intervals. Based on your data what was the average of the first 20 time intervals? Note that you could get this average by averaging the first 20 intervals. My first few intervals were .15625, .15625, .1875, .171875, etc; I could just add up the first 20 intervals and divide by 20 to get the average. However there is an easier and quicker way to get the result, so use the easier way if you can.
Give your result, number only, in the first line, and starting in the second line explain how you got it.
Average time interval: .096423
I got this answer by taking the average in excel.
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You're very quick. About 1 student in 100 manages an average less than .1 second. Most are in the .13-.16 second range.
Excel is completely unnecessary for this calculation, though it will come in handy later. If you subtract the first clock time from the 20th and divide by 19 you get the average of your 19 time intervals.
No big deal, but note that there were supposed to be 20 intervals.
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When I did this activity the first few lines of my data were as follows:
event number clock time time interval
1 11.67188 11.67188
2 11.875 0.203125
3 12.0625 0.1875
4 12.20313 0.140625
5 12.375 0.171875
6 12.54688 0.171875
7 12.73438 0.1875
8 12.92188 0.1875
9 13.10938 0.1875
10 13.28125 0.171875
11 13.4375 0.15625
It looks like the same intervals keep popping up. For example .1875 seconds occurs 5 times out of the first 10 intervals, .171875 seconds occurs three times, and .203125 seconds, .140625 seconds and .15625 seconds each occur once.
A frequency distribution for my time intervals would be as follows:
time interval frequency
,140625 1
.15625 1
.171875 3
.1875 5
.203125 1
What different time intervals did you observe in your first 20 intervals, and how many times did each occur? List below the different time intervals you observed and the number of times each occurred. List from the shortest to the longest interval, and use a comma between the time interval and its frequency. For example my data above would be listed at
.140625, 1
.1565, 1
.171875, 3
.1875, 5
.203125, 1
Your list should be in exactly this format, with no other symbols or characters.
6.207031, 1
.1210938, 1
.125, 1
.1015625, 3
.0859375, 5
9.765625E-02, 6
.1132813, 1
7.421875E-02, 1
.078125, 1
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You may make any comments or ask any question about the process so far in the box below
I am just a little bit foggy on the timer program.
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On the 10 intervals I've shown you, do you really think I managed to get a time of .1875 seconds, accurate to 4 significant figures, on half of the intervals? If you do, I'm grateful for your confidence but I'm just not that good. No human being has that much neurological and muscular control.
So why do you think the TIMER program reported that time so frequently? Why weren't there times like .1830 seconds, or .1769 seconds? Does this mean that the TIMER program is flawed? Does that mean it's useless?
The TIMER program reported the times so frequently is because the accuracy of the program is less accurate when you are repeatedly hitting the button at a fast pace. There weren’t any times like .1830 seconds because the TIMER program didn’t register those times when you were clicking the time button since the accuracy of the program prevents it from doing so. This does not mean that the TIMER program is flawed or useless it means it is less accurate the less time between clicks.
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Here are a few more lines of data, with an added column showing the difference between each time interval and the next.
clock time time interval difference from one time interval to next
9 13.10938 0.1875 -0.01563
10 13.28125 0.171875 -0.01563
11 13.4375 0.15625 0.03125
12 13.625 0.1875 -0.01563
13 13.79688 0.171875 0.015625
14 13.98438 0.1875 0.015625
15 14.1875 0.203125 -0.03125
16 14.35938 0.171875 -0.01563
17 14.51563 0.15625 0.03125
Take a good look at that last column and tell us what you see in those numbers, and what this tells you about the TIMER program
It calculates the difference from the difference and some of the times are negative.
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The TIMER program didn't calculate those differences.
The question is what the calculated differences tell us about the program.
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Now initialize the TIMER once more, and take a series of 10 relaxed breaths. Every time you start to inhale, hit the TIMER button.
My results for the first 7 complete breaths are as follows:
series of relaxed breaths
event number clock time time interval difference between time interval and next
1 1569.734 1569.734
2 1582.75 13.01563 0.32812
3 1596.094 13.34375 3.90625
4 1613.344 17.25 2.70313
5 1633.297 19.95313 1.35937
6 1654.609 21.3125 4.23438
7 1680.156 25.54688 2.15625
8 1707.859 27.70313
I didn't go on because the time between my breaths kept increasing, and I was afraid if I relaxed any more I might stop breathing altogether. It's going to take either more statistical analysis to determine whether that's a real danger, or a little common sense.
Report your results by just entering your time intervals, one to each line, in the box below. If I was entering my results I would enter
13.01563
13.34375
17.25
19.95313
21.3125
etc.
Enter your results in the same format:
3.699219
2.054688
4.050781
3.679688
4.460938
2.855469
3.59375
3.515625
4.671875
3.097656
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If you have any comments please insert them here
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Most likely you did not observe the same exact time interval twice, and if you did it did not happen nearly as often as when you did the fact clicks.
Why do you think this is exactly what we would expect?
I think that this is exactly what we would expect because having more a slower interval lets the TIMER program be more accurate.
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Which of the following statements do you think is the most accurate?
a. The TIMER program is capable of determining the time between two events accurately to within about .1 second.
b. The TIMER program is capable of determining the time between two events accurately to within about .01 second.
c. The TIMER program is capable of determining the time between two events accurately to within about .001 second.
d. The TIMER program is capable of determining the time between two events accurately to within about .0001 second.
Enter your answer and your reasoning below:
I think that the answer is d because that is what the program shows.
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If that was the case, would the differences in the time interval turn out the way they did?
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Note that the TIMER.exe program can save your data in a format that can be read by a spreadsheet (the TIMER applet cannot do so). This will be very handy in the future, so take a minute and do the following:
1. Click on the button at the lower right of the TIMER form, entitled Click to File Data.
2. A box will pop up allowing you to include an identifying message. You should generally choose to include such a message; for the data presently on your timer that might be 'series of regular breaths time at beginning of inhalation' or something similar. Type in whatever you think would serve as a good identifier for this data and OK that box.
3. A typical Save As window will appear. Decide where to save your data and what to call it, and proceed to save it. The program will save the file as a comma-delimited text file.
4. Open your spreadsheet program (typically Excel) and choose File > Open. Browse to the folder in which you just saved your data. Below the File Name line will be a File Type line; set this either to Text Files or All Files so your file will appear. Open it.
5. A series of windows will typically appear. In the first window make sure the file type chosen is Delimited, the proceed to the next window.
6. In the second window you will see a series of checkboxes; check the one entitled Comma, in order to select the comma-delimited file, then just click on Finish.
If you can't run the .exe program, you can't do Steps 1-3. However all you need to do is copy the contents of the program to a text file, using copy-and-paste. Save that text file, using any filename you wish. Then proceed with steps 4-6 above.
Your data should appear in your spreadsheet, and can be manipulated as in any spreadsheet.
Copy a few lines of the data from your spreadsheet below:
Series of Regular Breaths Time at Beginning of Inhalation
event number clock time time interval
1 3.699219 3.699219
2 5.753906 2.054688
3 9.804688 4.050781
4 13.48438 3.679688
5 17.94531 4.460938
6 20.80078 2.855469
7 24.39453 3.59375
8 27.91016 3.515625
9 32.58203 4.671875
10 35.67969 3.097656
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*#&!*#&!
&#Your work on this lab submission looks good. See my notes. Let me know if you have any questions.
Revision isn't requested, but if you do choose to submit revisions, clarifications or questions, please insert them into a copy of this document, and mark your insertions with &&&& (please mark each insertion at the beginning and at the end).
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