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...

Activity Name Data Strand Level Curriculum Topics NGSS Practices
wokbench 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, Skill: Developing Models, Standard Model 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
totem TOTEM 1

Students use TOTEM data to determine if protons (quantum objects) obey classical conservation of momentum.

LHC Level 1 Conservation Laws, Nature of Matter 4, 5, 8
tot Signal and Noise: Cosmic Muons

In this introductory tutorial that, students learn about how to distinguish muon signals from background and instrumental noise.

Cosmic Ray Level 1 Instrumentation, Quantum Mechanics, Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty, Waves & Interference 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
dpdx What Heisenberg Knew

Heisenberg knew that, at the quantum level, we cannot know everything, at least not all at once. Students explore uncertainties in measurements of complimentary variables to find this out for themselves.

Neutrino Level 1 Kinematics, Quantum Mechanics, Skill: Developing Models, Skill: Graphing 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Hypatia image Angles and Dimuons

This activity is based on the data analysis used for World Wide Data Day,

Cosmic Ray, LHC Level 1 Conservation Laws, Nature of Matter, Skill: Developing Models, Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
hexigon QuarkNet STEP UP: Careers in Physics

Lesson #2 in QuarkNet STEP UP Series on diversity and inclusion.

Level 1 Diversity & Inclusion
diagram Particle Transformations

Students discover the rules of particle transformations using transformation diagrams.

Cosmic Ray, LHC, Neutrino Level 1 Conservation Laws, Nature of Matter, Skill: Developing Models, Standard Model 1, 2, 4, 6, 7
bubble chanber Making Tracks II

Students analyze tracks in a bubble chamber.

Cosmic Ray, LHC, Neutrino Level 1 Conservation Laws, Nature of Matter, Skill: Developing Models, Standard Model 1, 2, 4, 6, 7
histo Histograms: Uncertainty

Students construct histograms, identify the best value to represent the data, and report the uncertainty in their answers. 

Cosmic Ray, LHC, Neutrino Level 1 Skill: Developing Models, Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty 4, 5
Speedy mnoun How Speedy are These Muons?

In this activity, students use authentic detector data to apply simple 1D kinematics (v=d/t), interpret graphical data, and evaluate measurement uncertainties.

Cosmic Ray Level 1 Kinematics, Nature of Matter, Skill: Graphing, Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8