Data Science

Python in a notebook, for loading, cleaning, charting and listening to data. The lab uses Google Colab, so there is nothing to install. Useful for sensor logs, fair projects and anything with a spreadsheet’s worth of numbers.

Get set up

• Tool: Google Colab, free, in the Chrome browser.
• Account: a school Google account.

Suggested progression

1. First notebook. Lab guide · Data Science Lab Guide - set up Colab, then DS1 Load and Summarize and DS2 Smooth and Spot Outliers.
2. Learn the main library. Read · 10 minutes to pandas - the official quick tour.
3. Practice with short exercises. Interactive · Kaggle Learn - free, short courses in Python and pandas.
4. Scales and sound. Lab guide · DS3 Scales and DS4 Sound as Data, in the same lab guide.
5. Reference. Read · Python Data Science Handbook - Jake VanderPlas’s free book; the chapters on NumPy, pandas and Matplotlib cover most needs.

Connections to other tools

Logs from Arduino (M5) are good data for DS1. Pitch numbers from DS3 feed Pure Data (PD5) in the sound tools. A box from Design (D3) makes sounds you can record and measure in DS4.