Teacher Academy


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

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		Dark Matter

		Stu Loken - Dark Matter Dr. Loken discussed models of the atom from the 18th century to the present, particles in atomic physics, cosmic rays, and the discovery of various particles in the 20th century. Dark Matter theories and candidates were introduced. He presented The Standard Model as a powerful synthesis that explains a large number of observations in a simple framework. The Standard Model is to physics as what evolution is to biology. Lecture pdf Video

		Hands On Cal Teach Group Investigation - Inverse Square Law: Relationship of Light Intensity and Distance with Steven Chua A large cardboard box with two doors on opposite sides made a dark tunnel that simulated the dark universe. A flashlight attached to a meter stick was inserted into the tunnel and the light sensor was placed on the door facing the flashlight. As the light is pulled away from the light sensor (which was attached to the Vernier Logger Pro Program) the students witnessed the inverse square law by which the intensity of the light decreases rapidly with the distance, forming an inverse square graph. Inverse Square Law Activity PDF Watch Video on YouTube
		Cal Teach Group Investigation - Baryon Acoustic Oscillations with Shubin Li In cosmology, baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) refers to a clustering of baryonic matter (ordinary matter) at certain length scales due to acoustic waves which propagated in the early universe after the Big Bang. In this animation, the peaks and valleys correspond to those early acoustic sound waves. Cal Teach assistant Shubin Li explains baryon acoustic oscillations by recording and plotting sound waves Students watched 'The Mystery of Dark Matter' from The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics as part of the discussion Animation of the Formation of the Acoustic Peak This movie shows the evolution of a initial point-like density fluctuation. See BCCP physicist Martin White's Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and Dark Energy webpage for graphics and explanation shown in video. Watch Video on YouTube
		Minds On Richard Damian - How to do an Experiment Experiments are central to the scientific process. If we can't test something experimentally, it is not the realm of science, but of philosophy. For example, String Theory may have elegant mathematics, but is not science until we can test it repeatedly and obtain the same results. Central problems that all experimenters encounter were discussed in this presentation. Problems and Exercises pdf Math Activity The results of the Mt Diablo cosmic ray experiments this weekend are posted. Use the data to estimate the relativistic gamma factor. Use your gamma factor to estimate the energy of the particles produced by incoming cosmic ray protons in the upper atmosphere where you may assume the muons were produced. Cyber Reflections Students and Teachers summarize lessons using Facebook and Inspiration software
		21st Century Cosmology Astronomy Particle Physics Nuclear Science Mt. Diablo Field Trip Dark Energy The Large Hadron Collider and the Higgs Particle Cal Teach Stations Final Day: Student presentations Workshop homepage