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Re: Particle & Nuclear Physics for HS Teachers



Dan,

Have you seen Cindy Schwartz's Tour of the Subatomic Zoo
book? That might be a good particle text for HS teachers.

Also, have you contacted the Lederman Education center at
Fermilab? They have spend alot of time on ways to teach
particle physics to this exact set of students. You could try
Tom Jordan (jordant@fnal.gov) as a first contact.

tom


---------------------------------
Dr. Tom Carter
Physics
College of Dupage
(o) 630-942-3346
(f) 630-942-2759
http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/cartert


-----Original Message-----
From: macisaac [mailto:danmacisaac@MAC.COM]
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2002 2:14 PM
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Subject: Particle & Nuclear Physics for HS Teachers


...I have been assigned a brand-new course in a brand-new program in a
new-to-me job here at SUNY- Buffalo State College, and I'm looking for
suggestions and assistance.

The course is called PHY525: Nuclear and Particle Physics,
and I have a
half-dozen HS and preservice HS teachers enrolled in it. We will look
at radionuclides and the series, nuclear structure and decay, nuclear
power and nuclear medicine, some experimental techniques and equipment
in the field, the standard model and the CPEP chart. I will use the
Barnett/Muhry/Quinn book "Charm of Strange Quarks" as a
"text", and I'm
actively soliciting hands-on, thoughtful and meaningful activities for
the classroom, particularly low-cost things that these teachers could
eventually do with their own students in their own classrooms.

Right now I'd like to obtain Geiger counters for these teachers -
supposedly civil-defense era counters are available from somewhere
cheap, though I have yet to find where.

I also hope to
-analyze bubble chamber tracks
-build cloud chambers (anyone have suggestions from
experience on how to
do this on the cheap?)
-simulate radioactive decay with dice
-review/critique/lesson plans from web sites like CPEP and
PHYSICS 2000
-prepare essays on Nobel Laureate speeches on nuclear/particle topics
-perform mock scattering simulations with marbles and objects of
different cross-sectional shapes
-work on NY Regent's standards for Particle/Nuclear physics testing

and I'm seeking your suggestions, particularly when
suggestions are from
experience, and can be performed cheaply in HS classrooms.

Thanks in advance,

Dan M

Dan MacIsaac, Assistant Professor of Physics, SUNY- Buffalo
State College
Department of Physics, 222 Sci Bldg BSC, 1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY
14222 USA;
(716) 878-4005 danmacisaac@mac.com macisald@buffalostate.edu