Data Activities Portfolio
The Data Portfolio is a compendium of particle physics classroom activities organized by data strand and level of student engagement. 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.
Your students can follow a path through activities in a data strand to better understand practices that lead to discovery. Each pathway provides connections between topics routinely covered in physics class and particle physics content and methods. Use the pulldown menus (Curriculum Topics and Strand) to find activities related to the content you are currently covering. Watch this screencast to learn more about sorting these activities.
We want your feedback on how the activities worked for you. Please complete the survey to help us improve our activities.
| Activity Name | Data Strand | Level | Curriculum Topics | NGSS Practices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 ATLAS Z-path MasterclassStudents are physicists for a day at a university or lab where they work with physiists to how to analyze real particle physics data in the form of event displays.
|
LHC | Level 2 | Conservation Laws, Nature of Matter, Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
 TOTEM 2Use quantum physics and LHC data to estimate the size of the proton. |
LHC | Level 2 | Instrumentation, Waves & Interference, Kinematics, Nature of Matter, Quantum Mechanics, Skill: Developing Models, Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty | 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
 CMS Data ExpressCMS Data Express is a short investigation in which students inspect and characterize W or Z events from the LHC. |
LHC | Level 2 | Conservation Laws, Nature of Matter, Skill: Developing Models, Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
 TOTEM 1Students 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 |
 Particle TransformationsStudents discover the rules of particle transformations using transformation diagrams. |
Cosmic Ray, LHC, Neutrino | Level 1 | Conservation Laws, Nature of Matter, Standard Model, Skill: Developing Models | 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 |
 Making Tracks IIStudents analyze tracks in a bubble chamber. |
Cosmic Ray, LHC, Neutrino | Level 1 | Conservation Laws, Nature of Matter, Standard Model, Skill: Developing Models | 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 |
 QuarkNet STEP UP: Careers in PhysicsLesson #2 in QuarkNet STEP UP Series on diversity and inclusion. |
Level 1 | Diversity & Inclusion | ||
 Energy, Momentum, and MassStudents examine data to find how energy, momentum, and mass are related. |
Cosmic Ray, LHC, Neutrino | Level 1 | Conservation Laws, Electricity & Magnetism, Special Relativity, Skill: Developing Models, Skill: Graphing | 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 |
 Histograms: UncertaintyStudents 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 |
 What Heisenberg KnewHeisenberg 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 |