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.
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| Activity Name | Data Strand | Level | Curriculum Topics | NGSS Practices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 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 |
 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 |
 Calculate the Top Quark MassStudents use conservation laws and vector addition to calculate the top mass from event displays. |
Cosmic Ray, LHC | Level 1 | Conservation Laws, Special Relativity, Standard Model, Skill: Uncertainty | 1, 4, 5, 7 |
 Calculate the Z MassStudents use conservation laws and vector addition to calculate the Z mass from event displays. |
LHC | Level 1 | Conservation Laws, Nature of Matter, Special Relativity, Standard Model, Skill: Developing Models, Skill: Uncertainty | 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 |
 Rolling with RutherfordStudents use statistics to make an indirect measurement they can easily confirm. |
Cosmic Ray, LHC | Level 1 | Nature of Matter, Skill: Developing Models, Skill: Histograms, Skill: Uncertainty | 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 |
 Making it ‘Round the Bend - QualitativeStudents explore the effects of electric and magnetic fields on particles. |
LHC | Level 1 | Electricity & Magnetism, Kinematics | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 |
 Signal and Noise: The BasicsStudents 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, Skill: Uncertainty | 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
 Shuffling the Particle DeckTeams 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 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
 Quark Workbench 2D/3DStudents 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, 6, 7 |
 Histograms: The BasicsStudents 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 |