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  1. Security Zone
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  1. Security Zone
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  3. Resistor Piano
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Base expedition

Mission 8 of 10

Base expedition: Mission 8 of 14

Speak Like a Machine


Advanced

1 hour

Grades 3 - 8
MISSION OBJECTIVE

Learn to build buttons that will translate numbers to binary.

In this project, students will explore binary code, a foundational part of computing. Students will try to “speak” a few numbers in machine language, just as computers do.

View student interface at make.playpiper.com
MISSION CHARACTERS

Piperbot

Pip

Binator
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  Print Educator Guide   Student Worksheet    Student Quiz    Support
MISSION MATERIALS
MISSION RESOURCES Learning Goals Career Connections Hardware Diagram Code Diagram Tutorial Steps Blueprint Troubleshooting Tips
EXPEDITION RESOURCES Helpful Links Vocabulary Words Material Library Standards Alignment
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MISSION MATERIALS

Computer with USB port and Chrome or Edge browser
Piper Make Base Station or Starter Kit
MISSION RESOURCES

Learning Goals

  1. Students will build two tactile buttons and use functions to convert from binary to decimal numbers.
  2. Students will understand what lists do in code and how they are used to store a collection of information in an organized way.
  3. Students will understand how binary has been used throughout the history of computing and why almost all computer systems are based on binary.

Career Connections

Software Developer: Salary $127,260/yr
Electrical Engineer: Salary $127,260/yr
Data Scientist: Salary $103,500/yr
Construction Manager: Salary $101,480/yr

Hardware Diagram

Code Diagram

Tutorial Steps

Blueprint

DOWNLOAD BLUEPRINT

Have an different version? Look for more information on the Support Page.

Troubleshooting Tips

  • Are you not receiving any inputs from the button presses?
    • Ensure that you’ve plugged the wires into the right GPIO. Look at the Digital View to see which pin you’re affecting.
  • What is binary?
    • Binary describes a numbering scheme with only two possible values for each digit – 0 or 1 –. It is the basis for all binary code used in computing systems

Our customer support specialists are on hand to ensure your implementation of Piper runs seamlessly.
View Support Docs or Contact Support
Base EXPEDITION RESOURCES
  • Explanation of Pull Up and Pull Down
    What are Pull-Up and Pull-Down Resistors? Read this overview to learn more.
  • Google Teachable Machine
    A fast, easy way to create machine learning models for your sites, apps, and more – no expertise or coding required.
  • The Artificial Intelligence (AI) for K-12 initiative
    The initiative is developing national guidelines for AI education for K-12, an online, curated resource Directory to facilitate AI instruction, and a community of practitioners, researchers, resource and tool developers focused on the AI for K-12 audience.

Vocabulary Words

Circuit A conductive path for flow of current or electricity

Power The current or flow of electric charge and voltage

Microcontroller An integrated circuit that contains a microprocessor along with memory and associated circuits

Loops A sequence of instruction s that is continually repeated until a certain condition is reached

Variables A value that can change, depending on conditions or on information passed to the program

Input Device A hardware device that sends data to a computer, allowing interaction and control

Output Device A piece of hardware which converts information into a human-perceptible form

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Standards Alignment


CSTA Framework   Base Kit Standards Alignment
ISTE Framework   Base Kit Standards Alignment
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