Title of ETP: On-Line Resources for Introductory Particle Physics at the High School Level

Name of IISME Fellow: Deirdre Roberts

Sponsor Company: Santa Cruz Institute of Particle Physics (SCIPP) at the University of California, Santa Cruz

Name of Mentor: Dr. Hartmut Sadrozinski

Category: Curriculum: High School Physics

Objectives: To provide a selection of on-line resources for teaching introductory particle physics for use by high school physics teachers, with emphasis on hands-on activities and current research and technology in the field, with specific student outcomes in mind (see Introduction).

Abstract: The goal of this project is to provide high school science teachers with a comprehensive resource guide to introductory particle physics curriculum materials available through the Internet. I selected the material based its appropriateness for the high school level and on maintaining a focus on the connections between studying science (learning in the classroom) and doing science (the process of scientific research).

Resources Needed: Internet Access

Topics in Modern Physics Teacher Resource Book¹

Evaluation

Measures Used: Since I will implement a unit on particle physics based on these resources, I will survey students before and after the unit is taught. The survey will focus on their awareness, knowledge and interest in the field of particle physics and scientific research.

Formatting: Mac

Submitted Copy: Electronic version_ and hard copy both submitted

Mentor Signature

and Comments:
 
 

Introduction

What is the universe made of? This questions had been asked throughout the ages and scientists continue to search for an ultimate understanding of our universe. Through the study of the fundamental particles that form the building blocks of the universe, their interactions, and experiments that attempt to recreate conditions similar to those immediately following the Big Bang, particle physicists are on the forefront of this search. The goal of this project is to provide high school science teachers with a comprehensive resource guide to introductory particle physics curriculum materials available through the Internet.

"The known properties of matter at the atomic and subatomic levels make it possible to reconstruct the history of the universe," is the opening statement of the California Science Framework’s section on what students in grades nine through twelve should understand in response to the following question, "What are the basic units of matter, and where did matter come from?"² A thorough_ recognition and understanding of how our knowledge of structure on the subatomic level provides insight into the history of the universe and the discoveries that led to that knowledge directly depends upon comprehension of the basics of particle physics. I have included material that would be useful in teaching introductory particle physics to high school students with the following student outcomes in mind:

• Students understand the fundamental particles that make-up the universe and how these particle combine to form more complex structures
• Students understand the connections between structure at the subatomic level and structure at the cosmological level
• Students gain an appreciation for current research and technology in the field of high energy particle physics
• Students gain increased self-confidence in their own ability to understand and do science and increased enthusiasm to continue to pursue careers in science and technology

I have organized the material into eight categories: Basic Particle Physics Information and Background, Classroom Handouts, Classroom Activities, Interactive On-Line Activities, Software, Classroom Materials and Supplies, Other Helpful Links and Web Sites.
 

Basic Particle Physics Information and Background

1. Topics in Modern Physics Teacher Resource Book¹

Comprehensive guide that includes overheads, activities and background information

2. Timelines³

a) Early Atomic Understanding

b) Scientific Revolution and Classical Mechanics

c) Quantum Theory

d) Modern View (Standard Model) 1964-present

3. High-energy Physics Made Painless⁴

A series of articles "explaining the terms and ideas of high-energy physics in everyday language."

"Diffraction, from Compact Discs to W Bosons"

"Acceleration".....and many more!

4. A Brief Overview of High-Energy Physics⁵

On-line tour of high-energy physics by Fermilab

5. An Introduction to Particle Physics⁶

Two page summary, including information on accelerators, detectors, antimatter, Big Bang science, dark matter and links to "Inside the Nucleus" and "Big Bang"

6. Articles on particle physics⁷

Written originally for mid level teachers

"What is Particle Physics"

"Some Particle Properties"

"The Present Theory of Fundamental Particles_ and Forces"

7. "What’s a Neutrino?"⁸

Basic information on neutrinos, including a brief history and recent experimental evidence

8. High Energy Physics (HEP) background information⁹

Topics: Quantum Mechanics

Matter and Energy

ElectroWeak Force

Color Force

Accelerators

Particle Detectors

9. Series of Articles from Fermilab⁷

"How Scientists Do High-Energy Physics Research"

"The Benefits of High-Energy Physics"

"Fixed Target Physics"

10. The New Explorers⁷

Information on a TV series that explores careers in science through interviews with scientists

11. Notes on "Beauty and Charm" ⁷

An introductory unit on particle physics geared to the middle-school level

Includes sample activities, "Small, Smaller, and Smallest" and "Tracking Unseen Events"

12. Articles on particle physics¹⁰

Based on research at the Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC)

"Particle Detectors"

"Accelerator Form and Function"

"Why Do We Need a High Energy Beam of Particles to Study the Structure of Matter?"

"What Have We Learned at SLAC? High-Energy Physics Highlights"
 

Classroom Handouts

1. Set of six handouts on particle physics¹¹

From the Particle Physics Group at Royal Holloway, University of London

Detailed and comprehensive handouts on particle physics

Topics: #1: Introducing Particle Physics

#2: The Structure of Matter

#3: The Forces

#4: Particle Accelerators

#5: Particle Detectors

#6: Particle Physics and the Big Bang
 

Classroom Activities

1. Three-Day and Five-Day Unit Plan in Particle Physics for the Introductory Physics Classroom¹

Based upon "Topics in Modern Physics" Teachers Resource Book

2. Momentum and Energy of Elementary Particles¹²

Teacher’s Guide

Activity One: Momentum and the Collision of Elementary Particles

Goal is to use the law of conservation of momentum to analyze particle interactions as seen in bubble chamber pictures

Activity Two: Energy and the Collision of Elementary Particles

Goal is to use the conservation of energy to identify the mass of sub-atomic particles

3. A Laboratory Exercise in Indirect Measurement¹³

Students use a method analogous to Rutherford’s to indirectly measure the radius of a circle

Teacher’s information

Student worksheet

4. Set of seven classroom activities on particle physics¹⁴

From the Contemporary Physics Educational Project

Teacher’s Guides

Student worksheets

Activity #1: Fundamentally Speaking

Activity #2: Psyching Out the System

Activity #3: Rutherford’s Discovery

Activity #4: Tracking Unseen Particles

Activity #5: The Rules of the Game

Activity #6: Observing Magnetic Effects on Particle Beams

Activity #7: Picturing Particles

Interactive On-line Activities

1. The Particle Adventure¹⁵

Comprehensive On-line "adventure"

Includes the basics of theory and experiment

A summary of The Particle Adventure available

2. Accelerator tour¹⁶

Detectors, Detector Shapes, Components of a Detector, Measuring Momentum and Sign of Charge, Detector Overview: Separating Interesting Events from Ordinary Events

3. Calculate the Top Quark Mass¹⁴

Students use the actual data collected at Fermilab to determine the mass of the top quark, based on the equivalence of mass and energy

Teacher’s Guide

Student handouts

4. The SciTech Quark Machine¹⁷

On-line tour that describes basic properties of the six quarks
 

Software

1. Lancaster P_article Physics⁶

Designed at the undergraduate level, potentially useful as a teaching tool or for use by upper-level students

Topics include: Elastic collisions

Particle annihilation and creation

Charged particle motion in a magnetic field

Particle decays and mean lifetime

Simplified of real events from LEP at CERN

2. OnScreen Particle Physics¹⁸

A particle-chamber simulation designed for use by introductory classes without advanced math

Components: Detection Chamber, Projection View, Chamber Controls, Tracker (Lorentz force simulation) and On-screen help

Ordering information at info@onscreen-sci.com
 

Classroom Materials and Supplies

1. Fermilab Materials List¹⁹:

Instructional Units, including "Topics in Modern Physics" (appropriate for HS level)

Multimedia (video tapes, video disks, slide sets, and software)

Posters

Toys for Science Teaching

2. Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP) products and information²⁰

Posters, charts, classroom activities, teacher’s guide
 

Books

1. Lederman, L.M. and Schramm, D.N. 1995. From Quarks to the Cosmos: Tools of Discovery. Scientific American Library, W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, New York. 242 pp.

2. Kane, G. 1995. The Particle Garden; Our Universe as Understood by Particle Physicists. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, Massachusetts. 224 pp.
 

Other Helpful Links

1. Particle Physics Education Sites¹⁴

Thorough list of particle physics education and information sites

Sections: Introduction, Experiments, Interactive, Resources, Discoveries, and Classroom Activities, and much more

2. Santa Cruz Institute of Particle Physics (SCIPP)²¹

High-energy particle physics research laboratories at the University of California, Santa Cruz

Information on current research projects and collaborators

Links to other research sites, including ATLAS and GLAST

3. University of California, Santa Cruz Physics Department²²

Programs information

Links under "Undergraduate Resources" especially helpful

4. ATLAS Education Outreach²³

ATLAS is an international collaboration on the research and development of a new detector for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN

5. Fermilab National Laboratory²⁴

6. Pathways²⁵

A summer physics outreach program for high school girls at Boston University

7. Physics 2000²⁶

Another list of Physics links from the University of Colorado

8. Imagine the Universe!^27,28

An educational resource provided by the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center

Includes classroom activities, with cross-discipline focus

Web Sites

¹ http://www-ed.fnal.gov/samples/hsphys/tmp_rev.html

² Science Framework for California Public School Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. 1990. California Department of Education. 220 pp.

³ http://pdg.lbl.gov/cpep

⁴ http://www-ed.fnal.gov/painless/htmls/index.html

⁵ http://www.fnal.gov/pub/hep_overview.html

⁶ http://hepwww.rl.ac.uk/Pub/Phil/ppintro.html

⁷ http://www-ed.fnal.gov

⁸ http://www.ps.uci.edu/-superk/neutrino.html

⁹ http://www.fnal.gov/pub/quantum.html

¹⁰ http://www2.slac.stanford.edu

¹¹ http://hepwww.rl.ac.uk/ppuk/school-res.htm

¹² http://mphs.phy.cmich.edu/users/gormley/goals2k/particle1.html

¹³ http://www- ed.fnal.gov/samplers/hsphys/activities/indmeastud.html

¹⁴ http://www-pdg.lbl.gov/cpep/other_sites.html

¹⁵ http://pdg.lbl.gov/cpep/adventure.html

¹⁶ http://pdg.lbl.gov/atlas/atlas_frames1.html

¹⁷ http://scitech.mus.il.us/qmachine/index.html

¹⁸ http://www.onscreen-sci.com

¹⁹ http://www-ed.fnal.gov/trc/mof.html

²⁰ http://pdg.lbl.gov/cpep_how_to_order.html

²¹ http://scipp.ucsc.edu

²² http://physics.ucsc.edu

²³ http://pdg.lbl.gov/atlas/outreach.html

²⁴ http://www.fnal.gov

²⁵ http://physics.bu.edu/pathways

²⁶ http://www.Colorado.EDU/physics/2000/

²⁷ http://univers.gsfc.nasa.gov/

²⁸ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/teachers/lessons