Skip to content

Sense-Think-Act Clock Sorter

Run the Sense-Think-Act Clock Sorter Fullscreen
Edit in the p5.js Editor

About This MicroSim

Every device in this book follows the same pattern: sense, think, act. A sensor measures the world and sends information to the microcontroller. The microcontroller runs the program and decides what to do. An actuator receives a signal from the microcontroller and changes the world by lighting up, beeping, or drawing on a screen.

In this MicroSim you sort eight real clock parts into those three roles. A correct drop snaps into the column with a green outline and a short explanation. A wrong drop slides back to the tray with a hint. The question that sorts every part is the same one Chrono asks in the chapter: does information flow toward the microcontroller or away from it?

Once all eight parts are sorted, you can step one signal through the auto-dimming clock example from the chapter: the light sensor senses a dark room, the Pico thinks, and the LED display acts.

How to Use

  • Drag a card from the parts tray and drop it in the Sensors, Microcontroller, or Actuators column.
  • Read the message under the columns. Green means correct; red is a hint to try again.
  • Hover over a placed card to see a one-line description of the part.
  • When all eight cards are placed, press Next step to move the orange dot from sensor to Pico to display, one step at a time.
  • Press Reset to shuffle the cards back into the tray.

Iframe Embed Code

You can add this MicroSim to any web page by adding this to your HTML:

1
2
3
4
<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/clocks-and-watches/sims/sense-think-act-clock/main.html"
        height="522px"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Learning Objectives

By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

  • Classify clock parts as sensors, a microcontroller, or actuators.
  • Explain the direction information flows between each part and the Pico.
  • Describe one full sense-think-act cycle in an auto-dimming clock.

Grade Level

9-12 (Clocks and Watches with AI)

Duration

10-15 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Read the Sensors and Actuators section of Chapter 1.

Activities

  1. Sort (5 min): Students sort all eight parts. Ask them to say out loud, for each card, whether information goes to the Pico or comes from it.
  2. Tricky cases (3 min): Discuss the DS3231 real-time clock and the OLED screen. Why is a chip that "keeps time" an input? Why is a screen that "shows the time" an output?
  3. Trace the loop (3 min): Press Next step three times and have students describe each step in their own words. Then ask them to invent a different loop, such as "button pressed, Pico adds one minute, display changes."
  4. Extend (4 min): Students name two more parts (for example a temperature sensor and a motor) and say which column each belongs in.

Assessment

  • Students sort all eight parts with no more than one hint.
  • Students can explain, using the words "to the Pico" or "from the Pico," why each part is a sensor or an actuator.
  • Students can describe a sense-think-act cycle for a clock feature not shown in the MicroSim.

References

  1. Sensor (Wikipedia) - Definition and examples of sensors.
  2. Actuator (Wikipedia) - Definition and examples of actuators.
  3. Microcontroller (Wikipedia) - What a microcontroller is and where it is used.
  4. Raspberry Pi Pico documentation - Official documentation for the Pico board.