Fermilab: Data-based Investigations

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written by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

This is a set of six student investigations developed to support core proficiencies via use of data available through national laboratories. Investigations appropriate for high school include: Searching for the Top Quark Mass, Investigating Special Relativity, Cosmic Ray e-Lab, and Search for Higgs. Investigations for both middle school and high school include: Sloan Sky Server Projects and Simply Prairie. All data is freely available for download, with explicit instructions provided in the teacher's guide. The package includes student activity pages and an online homepage for learners. A goal of the project is to promote the teaching of modern physics topics, using data analysis as the framework for study.

Fermilab is a national science laboratory whose primary focus of research is high energy physics. It is the home of the Tevatron, the world's second-largest particle accelerator.

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https://ed.fnal.gov/data/

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Practices - Active Learning = Inquiry Learning - Instructional Material Design = Project General Physics - Collections Modern Physics - Elementary Particles Relativity - Special Relativity	- High School - Middle School	- Collection - Instructional Material = Activity = Curriculum = Instructor Guide/Manual = Lesson/Lesson Plan = Student Guide - Dataset

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- Educators - Learners - Administrators	- text/html - application/shockwave - image/gif - video/realvideo	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access with registration; To access databases, teachers may be required to register.
Restriction:: Does not have a copyright, license, or other use restriction.
Keywords:: data analysis, particles, relativity, strong force, weak force, special relativity
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created September 14, 2011 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: August 19, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: May 31, 2010
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

1. The Nature of Science

1A. The Scientific Worldview

9-12: 1A/H1. Science is based on the assumption that the universe is a vast single system in which the basic rules are everywhere the same and that the things and events in the universe occur in consistent patterns that are comprehensible through careful, systematic study.

3. The Nature of Technology

3C. Issues in Technology

6-8: 3C/M7. Societies influence what aspects of technology are developed and how these are used. People control technology (as well as science) and are responsible for its effects.

4. The Physical Setting

4D. The Structure of Matter

9-12: 4D/H5. Scientists continue to investigate atoms and have discovered even smaller constituents of which neutrons and protons are made.

4G. Forces of Nature

9-12: 4G/H6. The nuclear forces that hold the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom together are much stronger than the electric forces between the protons and electrons of the atom. That is why much greater amounts of energy are released from nuclear reactions than from chemical reactions.

10. Historical Perspectives

10C. Relating Matter & Energy and Time & Space

9-12: 10C/H3. The special theory of relativity is best known for stating that any form of energy has mass, and that matter itself is a form of energy. Even a tiny amount of matter holds an enormous amount of energy. This relationship is described in the famous relativity equation E = mc2, in which the c in the equation stands for the immense speed of light.
9-12: 10C/H5. Einstein's development of the theories of special and general relativity ranks as one of the greatest human accomplishments in all of history. Many predictions from the theories have been confirmed on both atomic and astronomical scales. Still, the search continues for an even more powerful theory of the architecture of the universe.

12. Habits of Mind

12C. Manipulation and Observation

9-12: 12C/H5. Develop simple computer databases to store and retrieve information.

12D. Communication Skills

9-12: 12D/H7. Use tables, charts, and graphs in making arguments and claims in oral, written, and visual presentations.

12E. Critical-Response Skills

9-12: 12E/H3. Consider whether some event of interest might have occurred just by chance.

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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=11470">Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Fermilab: Data-based Investigations. May 31, 2010.</a>

AIP Format

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2006), WWW Document, (https://ed.fnal.gov/data/).

AJP/PRST-PER

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Fermilab: Data-based Investigations (2006), <https://ed.fnal.gov/data/>.

APA Format

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. (2010, May 31). Fermilab: Data-based Investigations. Retrieved May 1, 2025, from https://ed.fnal.gov/data/

Chicago Format

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Fermilab: Data-based Investigations. May 31, 2010. https://ed.fnal.gov/data/ (accessed 1 May 2025).

MLA Format

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Fermilab: Data-based Investigations. 2006. 31 May 2010. 1 May 2025 <https://ed.fnal.gov/data/>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Author = "Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory", Title = {Fermilab: Data-based Investigations}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {1 May 2025}, Month = {May 31, 2010}, Year = {2006} }

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%Q Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory %T Fermilab: Data-based Investigations %D May 31, 2010 %U https://ed.fnal.gov/data/ %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %A Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, %D May 31, 2010 %T Fermilab: Data-based Investigations %V 2025 %N 1 May 2025 %8 May 31, 2010 %9 text/html %U https://ed.fnal.gov/data/

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