Day One

Introduction to a summer physics project—“Counting Cosmics” QuarkNet students build a Cosmic Ray Telescope at Indiana University

Day one addresses the following questions:

· What is QuarkNet? URLs provided the day before check for awareness,

What is fnal? What is the purpose of QuarkNet? Who sponsors QuarkNet, What did the students do in the Counting cosmics project, What things in the two websites attracted your interest.

http://quarknet.fnal.gov/

http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~quarknet/

Explore these web sites to learn more about QuarkNet and the Counting Cosmics project.

· What is a Cosmic Ray Telescope and how does it work?

http://physics.indiana.edu/~quarknet/ilf/day1/student_presentations.html

View student presentations on counting cosmics project, and the presentation by the IU physics faculty mentor, Professor Rick Van Kooten.

· What is a Cosmic Ray?

http://helios.gsfc.nasa.gov/cosmic.html

Explore the web site for background information about cosmic rays and current cosmic ray research

· What do you think we can learn from Cosmic Ray Telescope data?

Brainstorm questions that could be addressed through cosmic ray data, divide students into small groups and have them list they questions that they would choose to answer through cosmic ray inquiry.