Teacher Academy


Creating Access to World Class Science and Engineering for K-12 Teachers and Students

BCCP Homepage Academy Activity Instructors For Students For Teachers For Berkeley Lab Staff Facilities Center for Science and Engineering Education Academy Homepage
		History and Structure of the Universe

		Eric Linder - Matter and Antimatter Dr. Linder discussed how cosmology encompasses the entire range of physics. Topics included early conditions of the universe, how inflation created topological defects, and that "freezeout" occurred sooner for weakly interacting matter. The question remains as to why there is any matter left in the universe. Lecture summary. PDF of Powerpoint Presentation Video clip: Pre-inflation Video clip: Inflation Video clip: Inflation as an example of a phase transition Video clip: Post-inflation - The radiation era Video clip: Universe freezeout Video clip: Antimatter
		Nao Suzuki - Tour of the Universe Dr. Suzuki delivered a presentation about the entire universe - starting from the smallest objects to the largest. He explored the mechanisms for structure formation such as inflation, dark matter, and dark energy as they relate to the infant and current universe. PDF of Powerpoint Presentation Teacher Resources: Representation of Eras - classroom lesson Orders of Magnitude pdf These two activities examine the immensity of the universe and the speed of light. Included are ways to review calculations involving powers of ten, unit conversions, and the concepts of speed, distance, and time.
		Inverse Square Law - Rich Lohman Students learned about astronomical units (arc- seconds and arc-minutes) and also explored parsec measurements by doing angle measurements of their fists. To understand parallax, students see how objects appear when viewed from different angles. Inverse Law Powerpoint pdf Light and Distance Discovery Station: Vernier Logger Pro Dick Damian Lights were pulled away from the light probes that were attached to a computer using the Vernier Logger Pro program. This demonstrated the inverse square law by which the intensity of the light decreases rapidly with the distance, forming an inverse square graph. Hands on Universe - Supernova Discovery Rich Lohman used the Hands-On Universe website to guide students through astronomy concepts such as parallax, expansion of the universe, asteroid & supernovae discovery, periodic measurements, and Kepler's laws. The students processed real telescope images and made physics calculations based on the theory presented. Distance - Supernovae Determining the Distance to the Whirlpool Galaxy M51 using Supernova Ia “Standard Candle” Supernova Light Curves Unit SNe-Std Candles Type Ia supernovae are brighter than entire galaxies. The measurement of their red shift as the universe expands led to the discovery of dark energy.
		Discovery Station: Electromagnetic Spectrum Each student and teacher was given a diffraction grating slide and a handout that showed the emission spectra for various elements. They then studied the spectra of different gases emitted from arc lamps and were shown the physics behind how the lamp works. The students examined and discussed the differences they saw in the spectral lines as well as the atomic physics behind the emission and absorption of light. Many astrophysics examples were explored as practical uses for spectroscopy.
		Team Media Project Take a concept from cosmology and explain it in terms that a high school or middle school student would understand. Using an analogy and/or a demonstration, act out a short skit, create a rap, or design a comic book to explain the concept. Be creative. These should be two-three minutes long and everyone in the team is involved. Videos will be made of each project. Final student video projects Rubric for Concept Map Students were given components of cosmology that would be used to create individual concept maps. Concept Map Terms pdf
		Day one: Cosmology for the 21st Century Day three: History and Structure of the Universe Day four: Standard Model of Particles and Interactions Day five: Beyond the Standard Model of Particles and Interactions Day six: Cosmologists for the 21st Century Workshop homepage