Lab 5 - Working with Spreadsheets

Objective:  To become familiar with electronic spreadsheets by using them in some simple applications.

Procedure: Starting with a clear Excel spreadsheet, we followed the instructions and entered 5 in column A, and a 3 in column B and PI/3.  The columns were labeled Amplitude, Frequency and Phase, to look like this:


Step 1 - adding headers and data

 

The next set of instructions were to add another column, label it X and put a 0 in the first field of the column.  In the next column, label it f(x) and enter the formula "A2*sin((B2*D2)+C1)".  This is what the spreadsheet now looks like:

Step 2 - adding more columns and the formula

 

The next step was to add a series of values in the X column ranging from 0 to 10 Radian, step by .1.  The idea was to use Excel to do this, so after the first .1 was entered, the rest of the column could be added from the previous field.  When this was completed, it looked like:



Step 3 - Getting familiar with Excel

Using Excel, the X column was extended to 100 radians.  The f(x) formula was extended to cover the range from 0 to 100.  This information was cut from Excel and inserted into the Graphical Analysis, where a graph of the data was created.  Using the program to analyse the data that was entered with the data set function, the following data was created:

 

Step 4 - importing the data to the graphical analysis program





Using another equation [f(t) = r0 + v0(t1-t0) + 1/2a(t1-t0)^2], setting up the series in Excel:





Step 5 - Creating the new data sheet

What the data looked like with the curve fit when it was imported into the Graphical Analysis software:

Step 6 - Adding new data to the computer software

Data:  All of the data was provided in the procedure.  No additional data needed.

Possible Sources of Error:  Unless the numbers were keyed incorrectly into Excel, or the graphical analysis program, there were not other sources of error.

Questions:
1. How do these compare with the values that you started with in your spreadsheet? The data from the curve fit matched the data that was used to create the series of numbers that were pasted into the graphical analysis program.

Conclusion: I can see how using MS Excel when working with the lab experiments can be a huge advantage.  Excel can be used to calculate data like series or formulas to verify or use the numbers with the lab software that is used for the lab experiments.  In future experiments, I will be using this software to assist with gathering and analyzing the data.