Coding and technology · Maths CAS idea
Build a weather station with a microcontroller
CreativityServiceProject-ready
Build a small weather station, log temperature, humidity and rainfall, and share the data with the geography department or a local group.
Where the maths comes in
Calibration, measurement error, averages and trends over time.
Which CAS strand it fits
- Creativity: The arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.
- Service: Unpaid, voluntary work with others that also has a learning benefit for you.
Your CAS coordinator decides how an experience counts at your school. Strand summaries are provisional (our words, being checked).
How to run it
- Build the station with help from a technician.
- Calibrate sensors against a known reference.
- Log data for months and fix problems as they arise.
- Share the dataset and simple analyses with users.
This can grow into a CAS project if your CAS coordinator agrees: see planning a maths CAS project.
How to evidence it
- Build log and photos
- Calibration notes
- Data and who used it
Date everything and keep it in your school's CAS portfolio as you go. More on what counts as evidence.
Reflection prompts
Questions to think about, not answers to copy. Write your reflections in your own words, in whatever form your school accepts.
- What went wrong with the hardware, and how did you fix it?
- How accurate is your data, and how do you know?
- Who found it useful?
Learning outcomes this often gives a chance to show
- Challenge and new skills. What could you not do at the start that you can do now? Which moment felt most uncomfortable, and what did you do next?
- Commitment and perseverance. When did you feel like stopping, and what kept you going? What does your record of sessions or meetings show about how regularly you took part?
- Initiative and planning. What did you plan, and what did you have to change once you started? Who did you need to ask for permission or help, and how did you go about it?
Whether you meet an outcome depends on what you actually do and reflect on, not on the idea. Outcome labels are our short summaries, being checked.
Safety and ethics
- Low-voltage electronics only, with a technician's guidance; mount outdoor equipment safely.
Agree every plan with your CAS coordinator first. Safety and ethics for maths CAS.
Check the maths behind your code in the free online grapher.