Battery

The DAQ hardware measures voltage, so the first experiment should be the measurement of a constant voltage source. A battery is the most common form of voltage source. Get a battery with voltage between 0 and 10 volts. Any household battery will do. A A size battery is a good size to hold in your hand. Then wire it to the DAQ as shown in the following diagram.

Run the DAQ Plot application to see the voltage of the battery. For example, if the battery is rated at 1.5 volts then the measured voltage should be around that, normally something like 1.42 (or negative 1.42). Batteries are not very well calibrated so the voltage on the label is rarely what the actual voltage is. After measuring the voltage for a few seconds then flip the battery over and measure it with connection in the other direction. You will see how the voltage signal flips from positive to negative, depending on the orientation of the battery connections.