LHC Masterclass Library 2017
Submitted by Sudha
on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 - 17:46
These pages are for leaders of masterclasses:
Mentors - particle physicists
Tutors - physicists, trained university students, high school teachers
Classroom teachers
Classroom 2017
This page is to help to guide teachers in preparing students for their masterclass.
Prior knowledge for masterclasses / Classroom prep objectives
Meeting these objectives will assure that students are well prepared for the masterclass.
- Describe the claim and indirect evidence in Rutherford's or another key experiment.
- Identify the peak in a histogram and explain what it means.
- Describe how quarks combine to form mesons and baryons.
- Apply conservation rules to measurements to provide evidence for unobserved particles.
Suggested activities
Particle physics research requires the use of indirect evidence to support claims.
Rolling with Rutherford
Students will be able to:
- Describe the claim and indirect evidence in Rutherford’s experiment.
- Identify the peak in a histogram and explain what it means.
The Standard Model is the current theoretical framework for our understanding of matter.
Quark Workbench
Students will be able to:
- Describe how quarks combine to form mesons and baryons.
The behavior of particles is governed by conservation laws and mass-energy conversion.
Choose one or both:
Students will be able to:
- Apply conservation rules to measurements to provide evidence for unobserved particles.
Additional resources
- ATLAS Masterclass website
- CMS videos
- ATLAS videos
- The Particle Adventure
- Bubble Chamber Activity
- Hands-on CERN
Get the word out about International Masterclasses!
IMC Poster (PDF) - plain
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IMC Poster (PDF) - U.S. logos
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IMC Poster (doc) - editable |
Orientation 2017
This page is to help to guide mentors in preparing their teams, including teachers, for the masterclass.
New Institutes: Masterclass Orientation
A masterclass orienation can be done online via Vidyo or in person with a visit from a QuarkNet staff member or fellow. It is intended for teachers and mentors. Here is what is covered:
- Classroom prep for the masterclass
- Try out an ATLAS or CMS masterclass measurement
- Walk-through of masterclass logistics
- Masterclass Library
- Vidyo test
- Q&A
This generally takes 3-6 hours, though it can be trimmed or extended depending on needed. If you are doing a CMS or ATLAS Data Workshop in the masterclass orientation period, it counts as an orientation. If you had one previous to this, you only need an orientation update (below).
Register for Masterclass Orientation on the Google form at least one week prior to your earliest preferred date!
Experienced Institutes: Orientation Updates
An orientation update is to bring teachers and mentors up to speed on the latest in masterclass measurements and procedures. As orientation updates are done online, they also serve as Vidyo tests. Orientation updates take 1-2 hours.
Register for Masterclass Orientation on the Google form at least one week prior to your earliest preferred date!
Orientation Schedule 2017
Orientation Indico pages:
Start time in CT and facilitator in parentheses. New registrants: we can accommodate days and times not yet shown on this schedule.
Date 2017 | ATLAS Orientation | CMS Orientation | ATLAS Update | CMS Update |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sat 28 Jan | ||||
Thu 02 Feb |
Boston/Seattle (16:00; Wadness/Cecire) |
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Sat 11 Feb | Chicago (10:00; Cecire) | Baltimore (11:00; Dower) | ||
Wed 15 Feb | Santa Cruz (16:00) | |||
Sat 25 Feb | Mayaguez (07:00; Cecire) | Buffalo (07:00; Wood), Honolulu (13:00; Wood) | ||
Mon 27 Feb | Faro (Vidyo test only)/Latin American group (09:30; Trapp) | |||
Thi 02 Mar | Frascati (09:00; Wood) | |||
Fri 03 Mar | Albuquerque (10:00; Wood, Trapp), Latin American group (15:30; Wood, Trapp) | Quito (09:00; Wood) | ||
Sat 04 Mar | UMN (10:00, 11:00 Vidyo test; Wood), KSU (13:00; Dower) |
* Site visit.
Planning the Masterclass 2017
This page is to help to guide mentors in preparing their teams, including teachers, for the masterclass.
Key elements
- Start early - October is good for a masterclass the following March.
- People - assemble a team of physicists, students, and high school physics teachers.
- Schedule - check your Institution and have teachers check their school for a good masterclass date.
- Ratios - one mentor or tutor per maximum 10 students, one computer per 2 students.
- Preparation - orientation for your team, into activities for students before masterclass.
- Vidyo - arrange what you need for the masterclass videoconference and have a Vidyo test using the same place and equipment.
- Organize - a place for students to work, tours of labs, presentations, lunch together (plus snacks, drinks etc), etc.
Resources
- International Masterclasses website
- IMC Coordinators Uta and Ken
Narrative
"I let myself in."
I looked up. In the waning light of that early October day, I could tell that a particle physicist had just entered my office.
"Yeah, welcome," I said, "but I have papers to grade."
"Grade them later. Right now, let me tell you a story," replied the CMS genius.
"Okay. Talk." I sat back and dropped the red pen on the desk. I took a long, slow sip of my cold coffee.
"I have a gig with the LHC, and you have high school physics students. We're going to do a masterclass. I'll check my March calendar, you check yours, and let's find a good day to bring your most motivated. We'll sign up on the Doodle poll. After the New Year, we'll prep some. You and I and the team will have an orientation to learn about the masterclass. Then, you'll give your students some activities to familiarize them with particle physics and prepare them for the masterclass, where they'll use actual LHC data. With me so far?"
"Yeah, I'm interested, Doc."
"Good. On the date we pick, we'll have the students at the Institute the whole day. We'll start them with a cloud chamber and work up to the Standard Model in a presentation I'll give. Then, we'll let them tour a bit (everyone loves the laser lab on the third floor and the Van der Graff in the basement) and have lunch."
"Lunch, good," I said. "Lunch with a physicist will be a great event for the students."
"In the afternoon, you will lead the students and show them how to analyze the LHC data. Yes, you can do it. After that, we turn them loose on data before I lead them in a physics discussion of the results. They will cap it off with a videoconference with other masterclass institutes and with moderators at CERN or Fermilab. Sound like a plan?"
"It's a plan. You had me at LHC. Now let me finish these quizzes."
Keep in mind
Here is what we hope to achieve with a masterclass from an educational point of view . . .
Enduring Understandings from the Masterclass
These are points we want students to remember long after the masterclass.
- Particle physics research requires the use of indirect evidence to support claims.
- The Standard Model is the current theoretical framework for our understanding of matter.
- The behavior of particles is governed by conservation laws and mass-energy conversion.
Learning Objectives
These are things we want students to be able to do as a result of the masterclass.
After the masterclass activity students will be able to:
- Explain that a general-purpose collider detector is made of a number of subsystems and describe what they are designed to measure.
- Express an increased appreciation for the nature of scientific investigation.
- Describe features of the Standard Model—which particles are which and how they relate to one another.
- Identify specific particles and their decays by their signatures.
- Give examples of how hadrons or force carriers can decay into different types of leptons.
- Describe/show how conservation laws, behavior of particles in a magnetic field and energy-mass conversion apply to particle physics.
- Give examples of conservation of charge in particle decays.
Masterclass Library Project Map
The Masterclass Library contains most of the information needed for physicists and teachers to run a masterclass. The Project Map below is arranged in the typical chronological order in which a masterclass prepared and then carried out. The order is more descriptive than prescriptive.
The Project Map has 6 "metro stops" plus several associated branches. The main metro stops are:
- Planning gives an overview of how to get masterclasses organized and going.
- Orientation explains orienting of teachers and physicsts to run a masterclass and provides schedule information.
- Classroom Preparation details how teachers get their students ready for the masterclass.
- Institute and Videocon with their branches cover the main elements of the masterclass day. These make up the heart of the Project Map.
- Follow on shows what students can do to continue their exploration of particle physics after the masterclass.
Register:
- for Orientation and Vidyo testing on the Orientation page
- for Masterclass videoconferences on the Videocon page
- or contact Ken Cecire and Uta Bilow.
LHC World Wide Data Day
02 December 2016
Register your group!
LHC World Wide Data Day is a 24-hour span, midnight-to-midnight UTC, in which students from around the world can analyze data from the Large Hadron Collider and share results via an ongoing, 24 hour videoconference with physicist moderators taking shifts in four locations around the world: CoEPP in Australia, CERN in Switzerland, Fermilab in the United States, and TRIUMF in Canada.
Who is eligible:
LHC-W2D2 is open to groups of 4 or more high school students who have the aptitude and interest to analyze data from the Large Hadron Collider. We encourage but do not require each group to work with a sponsoring teacher. Groups of university undergraduate (or equivalent) students may also participate. It helps but is not required to have studied physics. To register, please directly contact W2D2 Coordination by November 20, 2016.
What happens:
On or before 02 December 2016, groups will meet to analyze data using one of the recommended measurements below. All data analyzed will be from the Large Hadron Collider and released to the public. After data analysis, the group uploads their result at least 30 minutes before they connect at their pre-assigned time via Vidyo to their videoconference. Videoconferences are nominally 30 minutes long (but may take less time) and have up to 5 groups; each group has 3 minutes to present their results. If there is open time after the presentations and questions from the moderators, students may stay to chat with the moderators and each other.
Recommended LHC measurements:
Resources:
- Intro slides
- Practice spreadsheet (sandbox)
- Results speadsheet (use for 2nd December)
- Tally sheet
- About detector geometry
- Teacher notes
Messages for group leaders from W2D2 Coordination:
November 11, 2016 - Videconference schedule
November 17, 2016 - Assignment of datasets
November 22, 2016 - Vidyo and more
November 30, 2016 - Videoconference guide
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