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Data Activities Portfolio

The Data Portfolio is a compendium of particle physics classroom activities organized by Data Strand, Level of student engagement, Curriculum Topics and NGSS Standards. Follow the links provided for information about using the Data Portfolio to plan your students’ experience. Level descriptions explain the data analysis skills that students apply at each level: tasks in Level 0 are simpler than those in Levels 1 and 2. While each level can be explored individually, students who start in one level and progress to more complex levels experience increasingly engaging and challenging tasks. These activities are aligned with NGSS Standards, particularly NGSS Practices.

Each Curriculum Topic provides connections between topics routinely covered in physics class and particle physics content and methods. Use the menus to find activities related to the content you are currently covering. Watch this screencast to learn more about sorting these activities.

We are making Spanish Language versions of the activities. To find the activities with Spanish versions, use the Curriculum Topics menu, scroll to the bottom, select Spanish Language then Apply.. Special thanks to Danelix Cordero-Rosario from the Puerto Rico Center for providing these translations.

QuarkNet has entered the world of data science. Use the Curriculum Topic menu to locate the Skill: Coding option then Apply.

We want your feedback on how the activities worked for you. Please complete the feedback form to help us improve our activities.

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Activity Name Data Strand Level Curriculum Topics NGSS Practices
Mass of U.S. Pennies

Students create and interpret a histogram of penny masses.

Cosmic Ray, LHC Level 0 Skill: Developing Models, Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Quark Workbench 2D/3D

Students use Standard Model rules to build hadrons and mesons from quarks.

Cosmic Ray, LHC Level 0 Conservation Laws, Nature of Matter, Standard Model, Skill: Developing Models 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
Dice, Histograms & Probability

Students roll dice, record the resulting individual values as well as the sum of the values, create histograms of the data and develop insight into the concept of “degrees of freedom." 

Cosmic Ray, LHC Level 0 Skill: Developing Models, Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Shuffling the Particle Deck

Teams of students organize cards depicting fundamental particles based on their characteristics. This activity is a foundation for learning about the Standard Model and parallels the methods used by scientists to organize the elements into the period table.

LHC Level 0 Standard Model, Skill: Developing Models, Spanish Language 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
Mapping the Poles

Students explore some basics of magnetic fields that can be related to experimental particle physics.

LHC Level 0 Electricity & Magnetism, Skill: Developing Models 2, 4, 6, 7
Signal and Noise: The Basics

Students analyze signals and noise first in audio and video forms and then look at signals and noise from physics measurements.

Cosmic Ray, LHC Level 0 Instrumentation, Waves & Interference, Skill: Uncertainty 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Histograms: The Basics

Students build basic histogram skills required in many of the other activities in the Data Activities Portfolio.

Cosmic Ray, LHC, Neutrino Level 0 Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty 4, 5, 7
QuarkNet: Changing the Culture
Lesson #1 in QuarkNet STEP UP Series on diversity and inclusion.
Level 0 Diversity & Inclusion
Making Tracks I

Students analyze tracks in a cloud chamber.

Cosmic Ray, LHC, Neutrino Level 0 Nature of Matter, Standard Model, Skill: Developing Models 1, 2, 4, 6, 7
Introduction to Coding Using Jupyter

Students will learn the basics of coding using Jupyter style notebooks.

Cosmic Ray, LHC, Neutrino Level 0 Skill: Coding 1, 2, 4
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National Science Foundation
University of Notre Dame
Fermilab
Department of Energy

This project is supported in part by the National Science Foundation and by the Office of High Energy Physics, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy through its support of Fermilab. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation or Department.

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