Standard Model

The purpose of this activity is to come to a consensus for the “best” value for the mass of the Z Boson.

Students discover the rules of particle transformations using transformation diagrams.

Students analyze tracks in a bubble chamber.

Students analyze tracks in a cloud chamber.

Students use spreadsheet coding to determine the Z Mass for a large data set.

Students use momentum conservation to examine the decay of top-antitop pairs to determine what is missing from the event.

Teams of students organize cards depicting fundamental particles based on their characteristics. This activity is a foundation for learning about the Standard Model and parallels the methods used by scientists to organize the elements into the period table.

Students use Standard Model rules to build hadrons and mesons from quarks.

Students use conservation laws and vector addition to calculate the top mass from event displays.

Students use conservation laws and vector addition to calculate the Z mass from event displays.