In this activity students learn about radioactivity, the definition of a half-life, and the elementary particles called muons. They do simple demonstration activities to learn about exponential decay, graphing, and probability/statistics in experiments. In the culmination of this activity, students download live data from an experimental setup at Caltech and use the data to find their own value of the muon half-life.

Measure the Half-Life of Muon Particles This unit is appropriate for high school grades. Calculus is not required. If all the material is covered in sequence and all the activities are used, this unit will occupy 1.5-2 full days, or 1-1.5 weeks of normal class time. Background Material and Directions Excel spreadsheet for importing and analyzing data Live data from the muon decay monitor in Kellogg lab is available here.

In this activity students construct an electroscope out of extremely simple everyday materials. They explore the behavior of electric charge and learn how it is possible to detect the effects of microscopic particles with a simple device.
	Build Your Own Electroscope This activity is appropriate for elementary or middle school grades. Students can work individually or in groups of two to three. The most "expensive" item on the materials list is an empty Snapple bottle. Introduction, Directions, and Questions

In this activity students begin with the famous formula E=mc2, see what it means for the rest energy of a particle, and investigate how it changes when the particle travels close to the speed of light.
	Einstein and Energy Beyond E=mc2 This worksheet is appropriate for an introductory high school physics class. It requires only pencil, paper, and a calculator. Student worksheet

In this lab, students measure the speed of sound, considering several options for their exact experimental procedure. They are then challenged to estimate a lower limit for the speed of light based on the fact that they cannot measure it directly via the same method.
	Measure the Speed of Sound; Can You Measure the Speed of Light? This activity requires lab groups of about 2 students each, wooden blocks (clappers), stopwatches, and a large open space. The full activity is appropriate for middle school, while the speed of sound portion is appropriate for the upper elementary grades. lab instructions and analysis questions NOTE: This a draft or beta version!

How do we get from the everyday world down to the atoms and molecules of chemistry, and from there to the quarks and other elementary particles that make up all matter? In this activity students are presented with a varied "universe" of tangram-style shapes and come up with simple rules for their fundamental building blocks and interactions.

Tangram Toy Model of Particle Physics In this activity, students decipher the building blocks and "binding rules" of an imaginary universe made up of tangram shapes. The teacher (or another group of students) presents a series of "observations" from this universe, and students must create, test, and refine their proposed rules based on these "observations." The activity is designed for advanced middle school or introductory high school physical science. It requires only the materials provided here, a xerox machine, and (possibly) some patience with a pair of scissors. teacher instructions and background first look at allowed particles/objects allowed particles rarer allowed particles forbidden particles allowed transformations (for extended version) building block shapes to cut out key to construction of 1st set of allowed particles (version 1) key to construction of1st set of allowed particles (version 2) key to construction of rarer allowed particles

Getting a class or group geared up to work with CHICOS data? These guided research modules help student/teacher groups do background research, learn CHICOS software, and conduct short data analysis projects. The modules were used and revised during the summer 2004 research program. Each one takes 1-1.5 days full-time or about one week of class time.

Guided Research with CHICOS Data The shower reconstruction and MIP units are most appropriate for high school. The weather unit works well with middle school students. The MIP and weather units involve initial web/library research on background subjects (subatomic particles and their detection for the MIP project, definitions and origins of weather phenomena for the weather project). shower reconstructions weather effects what's in a "hit"

A group of CHICOS teachers has constructed portable cosmic ray detectors following a design from Lawrence Berkeley Labs. These demo-sized detectors work on the same principles as the rooftop CHICOS units but with smaller detection area and sensitivity.
	CHICOS Portable Cosmic Ray Detector The detectors are available for checkout (with advance notice) so students can use a portable detector themselves and see the actual parts in operation. Your class can also work with the data already collected by one mountain-scaling teacher. Lab Manual old manual versions Archive of previous data taken

Some cosmic ray detectors measure the direction of the incoming particles, and from that information are able to reconstruct the direction of the original cosmic ray. The activity below will explore that type of reconstruction in two dimensions.
	Reconstructing Cosmic Ray Showers from Directional Information Students will reconstruct a cosmic ray air shower using a method of angle bisection. HTML Version PDF Version
Other cosmic ray detectors record the time the incoming particles arrive, and are able to reconstruct the direction of the original cosmic ray from the timing information. The CHICOS detectors work in this way. This lesson will explore that type of reconstruction.
	Reconstructing Cosmic Ray Showers from Timing Information In this hands-on lab students explore properties of an incoming wavefront and determine its direction using trigonometry and kinematic equations. HTML Version PDF Version

In this activity students construct a 3D pointing device out of simple materials to determine the location of an incoming cosmic ray.
	Cosmic Ray Source Locator Simulation Lab HTML Version

Each CHICOS detector site uses a GPS antenna to determine the location of the detectors and to time stamp the cosmic ray events. The following two GPS activities have been updated as part of the CHICOS project. They were originally developed with support from the Montana Space Grant Consortium for the BOREALIS high altitude balloon program.
	GPS 1:Follow Me If You Can This activity demonstrates how you can locate your position anywhere on Earth if you can receive signals from three GPS satellites. HTML Version PDF Version
	GPS2:Catch Me if You Can This activity demonstrates how GPS information can be used to not only determine your location, but also the direction and speed you are traveling. HTML Version PDF Version

Ultra high energy cosmic rays are traveling at speeds much greater than we are able to achieve in man made particle accelerators. In this lesson students will explore different forms of energy to develop an understanding of just how energetic cosmic rays can be.
	Just How Much Energy is 1020 eV Anyway? HTML Version PDF Version

This icebreaker activity can be used to kickoff a class period or workshop. It is straight forward, and will serve as a nice way to introduce cosmic ray showers and get everyone wondering about them.
	Icebreaker Activity: Cosmic Ray Shower Puzzle Fit together the pieces of this puzzle to build a picture of a cosmic ray shower. HTML Version PDF Version

We are very interested in your feedback regarding these activities.
Please send questions or comments to CHICOS

CHICOS Homepage      Education and Outreach