Details

Lesson Antarctic About 1 period Download, Share, and

Remix High school and Up

Materials

Worksheet: Build a ParticleWorksheet: Particle FlashcardsScissorsMarkers (Optional)QuizAccess to a computer (withinternet)

Standards

IB Curriculum

What Everything’s Made Of – The Structure ofMatter

OverviewIn this lesson, students will be introduced to the StandardModel, learning key vocabulary such as Fermions, Hadrons,Mesons, Baryons, Quarks, Leptons, particles, and anti-particles. In particular, students will come to understandwhat a neutrino is and why it is such a unique particle. Thisunderstanding connects to the IceCube NeutrinoObservatory’s search for neutrinos in an effort to learnsomething new and different about the universe. (This lessonis ideal for an upper-level, i.e. AP or IB, Physics or Chemistryclass)

Objectives1. Understand the organization of the Standard Model.2. Correctly use relevant vocabulary such as fermion,

hadron, lepton, quark, baryon, meson, particle, and anti-particle.

3. Discuss why neutrinos are unique and how this servesas an advantage and disadvantage to the IceCubeNeutrino Observatory. (Note: This lesson is particularly relevant to the IBPhysics curriculum, Subtopic 7.3)

Lesson PreparationStudents should go to www.particleadventure.org and readthe section on “The Standard Model” before coming toclass. This will give students preview of the content.Procedure

✏

IB Physics SL / HL curriculum,Sub-Topic 7.3: The Structure ofMatterAim 1: the research that dealswith the fundamental structureof matter is international innature and is a challenging andstimulating adventure for thosewho take part Aim 4: particle physics involvesthe analysis and evaluation ofvery large amounts of data Aim 6: students couldinvestigate the scattering angleof alpha particles as a functionof the aiming error, or theminimum distance of approachas a function of the initialkinetic energy of the alphaparticle Aim 8: scientific andgovernment organizations areasked if the funding for particlephysics research could bespent on other research orsocial needs

Procedure1. Review relevant vocabulary from the pre-reading,

including fermions, hadrons, leptons, quarks, particlesand anti-particles.

2. Discuss how quarks can combine in certain ways toform new, more complex particles.

3. Students explore ways of combining quarks usingbit.ly/BuildaParticle. They should record their findings(combination of quarks, was a particle created?, and, ifso, the name of the particle) on the provided worksheet.This will help students begin to look for patterns as wellbecome familiar with the names of various baryons andmesons. (see Worksheet: Build a Particle)

4. After giving students time to explore, ask them to pullout patterns they see for mesons and baryons andrecord at the bottom of the provided worksheet.

5. Discuss these patterns as a class. Students should havediscovered that three particles or anti-particles cancombined to form a baryon and a particle/anti-particlepair can combine to form a meson.

6. Discuss how each particle has specific properties. Pullon prior knowledge of charge, and add new propertiessuch as lepton number (leptons=+1, anti-leptons=-1,non-leptons=0), baryon number (baryons=+1, anti-baryons=-1, non-baryons=0), and strangeness (strangequark=-1, anti-strange quark=+1).

7. Using the IB Physics Data Booklet (or other onlineresources if not an IB course), students should createflashcards recording the name, category, charge, lepton #, baryon #, and strangeness ofcommon particles. Option: have students color/decorate the flashcards (see Worksheet: ParticleFlashcards) (note to teacher: print the worksheet front-to-back in order to line up the particlewith the properties on the back) (note to teacher: although students will likely not fully understand lepton #, baryon #, orstrangeness at this point in time, later lessons could focus on conservation of these quantitatesto further understanding)

8. Discuss what makes neutrinos so special: Students should notice from their flashcards thatneutrinos have a charge of 0. Connect this to prior knowledge about about electric andmagnetic fields – neutrinos would not change their direction when traveling through electric ormagnetic fields. Ask students to look up to the mass of neutrinos – they’ll find it’s nearly zero.Connect this to prior knowledge about gravitational fields – neutrinos would not change theirdirection when traveling through gravitational fields.

9. Discuss: Why might these two properties of neutrinos, chargeless and nearly massless, behelpful when trying to study the universe? Why might IceCube be interested in neutrinos inparticular? Answer: wherever these neutrinos are coming from, they’ll travel in a straight path,unobstructed by fields, to earth. This makes it really easy to trace a detected neutrino back to itssource.

10. Discuss: Why might these two properties of neutrinos, chargeless and nearly massless, pose aproblem to scientists? Answer: hard to detect!

11. Next, students should cut out the labels on the last page of the worksheet. Using these labels,ask students to organize the flashcards in a way that makes sense to them. (Formativeassessment: check that students are correctly using the vocabulary words.)

12. How do physicists organize these particles? Present students with various different StandardModel representations. (suggested links: Table, Web, Traditional table, Traditional Chart). Discussthe pros and cons of each type of representation. What is your favorite? Why?

13. Present alternative way of discussing the standard model by playing the Quark Song.

ExtensionStudents create another representation that includes the vocabulary fermions, leptons, quarks,mesons, baryons, and hadrons. Encourage creativity! (ideas could include a family album, baseballcards, etc.)

ResourcesWorksheet: Build a Particle (download entire lesson PDF)Worksheet: Particle Flashcards (download entire lesson PDF)Follow-up Quiz (download entire lesson PDF)Pre-reading Website: www.particleadventure.orgBuild a Particle Website: bit.ly/BuildaParticleQuark Song:https://youtu.be/U0kXkWXSXRA

AssessmentFormative Assessment (in #10 in above lesson plan): check that students are correctly using thevocabulary words as they sort their flashcards using the labels

Formative Assessment: mini-quiz (download entire lesson PDF) given the following class toassess student’s knowledge of the Standard Model as well as their use of vocabulary.

Author/CreditsThis lesson was modified by Kate Miller (contact: kate.miller@polartrec.com) from resourcesproduced by the KSTF IB Physics Collaboration (including Heather Hotchkiss, Mark Hartman,Jennifer Goetz, Nick Guendel, Christine Scott, and Katelyn Warner)

Name:_______________________________________date:____________period:______BuildaParticle

1. Gogobit.ly/BuildAParticle---clickskipintro---then 2. Click“PlaywithelementaryParticles”ontheleftside,under“Generationsofelementary

particles”.3. Click“Game”.Therewillonlybe3(outofthe6)quarksrepresentedinthisgame.4. Beginexperimentingwithdifferentingredientsofquarksincombinationsof2(mesons)and3

(baryons).Below,recordthequarksyoutried,andwhatparticletheycreated!

Tocreateaparticle:A. SelectthequarksyouwishtobuildwithB. Whenyouhaveyouringredients,click“Done”forfeedbackoniftheparticleispossible.

Ifitis,itwilltellyouwhichyouhavecreated!

Whatpatternsdoyouseeascreatingvalidparticlesfor…

Mesons? Baryons?

QuarksCombined ParticleCreated?(Y/N)

NameofParticle

Name:______________________________________

ParticleFlashcardsWelcometothezoo!Today’sactivitywillintroduceyoutomostoftheparticlesfoundintheStandardModel.

Procedure:

1) Cutouteachparticle.2) Usingyourdatabooklet(orotheronlineresources),fillinasmuchinformationabouteach

particleaspossible.

**Breakfordiscussionofneutrinos**

3) Cutoutthelabelsonthelastpage.4) Createavisualofthezoo,usingthelabelsandpropertiestoorganizethemintogroups

andahierarchy(ex:flowchart,grid,etc.)

Proton Neutron

Name:____________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Quarks:___________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Quarks:___________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Neutrino Anti-Neutrino

πpion

Kaon

Name:____________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Cat:______________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Cat:______________

PairsWith:__________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:____________

Cat:______________

PairsWith:__________

Charge:___________

Lepton#:_________

Baryon#:__________

Strangeness:_______

Name:___________Cat:___________

3Types:1)________Quarks:_______Charge:______L#:_______B#:______S#:____

2)________Quarks:_______Charge:______L#:_______B#:______S#:____

3)________Quarks:_______Charge:______L#:_______B#:______S#:____

Name:___________Cat:___________

3Types:1)________Quarks:_______Charge:______L#:_______B#:______S#:____

2)________Quarks:_______Charge:______L#:_______B#:______S#:____

3)________Quarks:_______Charge:______L#:_______B#:______S#:____

Quarks Leptons

Mesons

Baryons Hadrons

Fermions

Name_______________________________________________

Quiz1. Whatisthechargeofanupquark?__________

2. Whatisthechargeofananti-upquark?__________

3. Whatistheleptonnumberofanelectron?__________

4. Whatistheleptonnumberofananti-electron(positron)?__________

5. Whatisthebaryonnumberofaproton?__________

6. Whatisthestrangenessofadownquark?__________

7. Whichisbigger: quark OR baryon?

8. Whichhasotherthingsinsideofit:leptonORquarkORmeson?

9. Whattwotraitsmakeaneutrinounique?___________________ _____________________

10. DiscusshowthesetwotraitsmakeneutrinosbothidealanddifficulttodetectforIceCube.

KEY:1. +2/3e2. -2/3e3. +14. -15. +16. 07. baryon8. meson9. chargeless;nearlymassless10. becauseneutrinosarechargelessandnearlymassless,theyarenoteffectedbyelectric,magnetic,or

gravitationalfields.Theytravelfromtheirsourcetoearthisastraightline,soifwecandetectonewecaneasilytracebacktoitssources.But,becausethey’rechargelessandnearlymassless,neutrinoscanbedifficulttodetect.