PASCO PS-2116A User Manual

Conductivity Sensor

BNC

Port

Conductivity Probe

Range Select

Buttons

BNC

Connector

Platinum

electrodes

PS-2116A

Instruction Sheet

012-09688B

.

Included Items

Conductivity Sensor

10X Conductivity Probe (PS-2571)

Required Items*

PASCO Interface

PASCO Data Acquisition Software

*See the PASCO catalog or the PASCO web site at www.pasco.com
for more information.

Recommended Item*

Sensor Extension Cable (PS-2500)

Introduction

The PS-2116A Conductivity Sensor measures ionic and
non-ionic molecules in aqueous solutions. These measure­ments can be used to investigate factors that influence the
electrical conductivity of liquids. This sensor can be used to
explore the effects of temperature and concentration on the
electrical transport properties of aqueous solutions. The Sys­teme International (SI) unit) for conductivity is the siemen
per centimeter (S/cm). When dealing with a chemical solu­tion ranging from extremely dilute to very concentrated
chemical, use of conductivity units of S/cm and mS/cm are
common. In these applications, conductivity has the advan­tage of an almost direct relationship with impurities, espe­cially at low concentration.The sensor has three ranges.

The sensor is designed to work with a PASPORT-compatible
interface (such as the UI-5100 850 Universal Interface) and
PASCO data acquisition software (such as PASCO Cap­stone) to measure electrolytic conductivity.

The 10X Conductivity Probe can be replaced if necessary.

Sensor Theory

Conductance is the reciprocal of resistance. Conductivity is
the specific conductance of a material. The conductivity is
the conductance measured between the opposite faces of a
one centimeter cube of the material.

The electrode cell in the end of the Con­ductivity Probe is constructed of an
insulating material embedded with
pieces of platinum. These metal contacts
serve as sensing elements and are placed
at a fixed distance apart.

Setup the Sensor

• Soak the end of the probe in deionized or distilled water
for five to ten minutes.

• Connect the BNC Connector of the Conductivity Probe
to the BNC Port on the sensor.

• Plug the sensor into one of the PASPORT input ports of
a PASCO PASPORT-compatible interface.

Conductivity Sensor Specifications

Sensor

PASPORT

Input Port

Interface

LED

• Click one of the display templates in the Capstone work­book page, or double-click an icon in the “Displays”
palette to open a specific data display.

• Click “Record” ( ) to begin recording data.

Using SPARKvue Software

• Connect the sensor to a SPARKvue-compatible inter­face and start the software. The sensor parameter screen
opens and shows the list of measurements for the sensor.

NOTE: If more distance is needed between the sensor and
the interface, plug the sensor into a Sensor Extension Cable
(optional) and then plug the cable into the interface.

• In the sensor parameter screen, touch the measurement,
and then touch ‘Show’ to open a graph display of the
measurement.

Select a Range

The three ranges are represented by the icons next to the
range select buttons. The water glass range is 0 to 1000
microsiemens per centimeter, the chemistry flask range is 
0 to 10,000, and the ocean wave range is 0 to 100,000.

To select a range, press one
of the Range Select Buttons
on the sensor. The green
light emitting diode (LED)
for that button will shine.

The sensor continuously
monitors conductivity, even
if data are not being
recorded. It detects when
the conductivity level is too
high for the selected range.
When this occurs, the LED
for the selected range will
blink, and the LED in the button for the next higher range
flashes. Press the button with the flashing LED to select the
proper range.

Solution Conductivity

Ultra-Pure water 0.05 S/cm

Distilled water 0.5

Drinking water 50 to 1500

Sea water 53,000

• Touch “Start”( ) to begin recording data.

Using the Xplorer GLX

• Turn on the Xplorer GLX and connect the sensor to a
port on the top. A Digits display of conductivity opens
automatically and shows the data being monitored.

• Press the Start/Stop key (s) to begin recording data.
Press the same key again to stop recording.

Calibration Information

See the Appendix for detailed information about calibrating
the Conductivity Sensor.

More Information

For more information about collecting, recording, displaying
and analyzing data, refer to the User’s Guide or Online Help
System for the data acquisition software.

Specifications

Item Value

Ranges: 0 to 100 S/cm

0 to 10,000 S/cm
0 to 100,000 S/cm

Accuracy: ±10% of full range for all

ranges

Resolution: 0.1% or better

Operating Temperature: 0 to 50° C

Brackish water 1000 to 80,000

Safety CAUTION!

Always use eye protection, gloves, and an apron when work­ing with chemicals.

Making Measurements

Using PASCO Capstone Software

• Start the PASCO data acquisition software.

• Click the “Hardware Setup” icon in the Tools palette to
open the “Hardware Setup” panel. Confirm that the sen­sor’s icon appears with the interface’s icon.

2

Maintenance

Cleaning

The electrode cell in the end of the Conductivity Probe must
be clean for accurate and reproducible results. A dirty elec­trode cell will contaminate the sample being tested.

The electrode cell can be cleaned with detergent or dilute
nitric acid (1%) by stirring the end of the probe in the clean­ing solution for three minutes. Rinse thoroughly.

Storage

The best method for storing the Conductivity Probe is to
immerse the end of the probe in deionized or distilled water.

012-09688B