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Expertise Quiz

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Project:

Your project involves conducting research on the variables involved in the recent discovery of extrasolar planets. You will determine variables upon which the extrsolar planet mass and position depend, propose and conduct a systematic study, generate well substantiated conclusions, and apply your research to the question of whether or not life on other planets could exist.

By the end of this project, you should be able to:

• apply the scientific method to a problem and draw logical conclusions from systematically collected and analyzed data.
• use appropriate terminology to describe and explain the operation and purpose of experiments that have discovered extrasolar planets.
• use basic physics equations of Center of Mass, the Doppler Shift, Universal Gravitation, Kepler's Laws, Orbital Velocity and Conservation of Momentum to describe the position and mass of orbiting planets and how the position and mass of these extrasolar planets vary with the variation of gathered data on a given sun's period of rotation and k generated from the given sun's velocity vs. time graph.
• use basic physics equations of Center of Mass, the Doppler Shift, Universal Gravitation, Kepler's Laws, Orbital Velocity and Conservation of Momentum to determine the position and mass of an actual orbiting extrasolar planet given data on a sun's period of rotation and k generated from the given sun's velocity vs. time graph.
• apply basic physics equations of Center of Mass, the Doppler Shift, Universal Gravitation, Kepler's Laws, Orbital Velocity and Conservation of Momentum to a self-generated study of how the position and mass of these extrasolar planets vary with the variation of gathered data on a given sun's period of rotation and k generated from the given sun's velocity vs. time graph.

Your teacher will provide:

• timely guidance and advice to get (and keep) your project moving.
• suggestions for ways to find information (e.g., topics, keywords, books, videos, laser discs, etc.).
• a World Wide Web (WWW) page full of links to useful sites providing information on information related to the Extrasolar Planet Search.
• equipment (Macintosh, Physics Explorer, Sensai Physics, Interactive Physics, . . . etc.).
• graphical analysis software and other analysis software.
• a scoring rubric to guide your performance and to access your completed project.

You are responsible for:

• developing a plan which involves dividing up each phase of the project into a variety of tasks and designating certain tasks as the responsibility of certain individuals.
• devoting yourself to your designated task and collaborating with others regarding the results of your efforts.
• arranging for appointments with your teacher in order to ask questions, receive advice, discuss difficulties, and discuss progress.
• a thorough and well-documented literature search which includes technical reading from scientific texts and physics books, the search of information on CD-ROMs (particularly the Einstein . . . CD-ROM), and the use of Internet (WWW) resources.
• a well-defined project proposal based on background reading which includes (1) a statement of the purpose, (2) a step-by-step procedure for analyzing the obtained data, and (3) a clearly-defined plan for interpreting experimental data.
• completion of the Internet Expertise Quiz.
• providing a written request for needed equipment (24 hours in advance).
• a detailed and organized journal which documents your experimental results and a computer disk which is used to systematically save graphical analysis and other analysis.
• reviewing your journal and computer disk with your teacher during guidance sessions.
• the organization of charts, graphs, posters, computer printouts, pictures, clip-art, videos, CD-ROM images, WWW downloads, etc. all included in a multimedia report which includes credit for used information and which informs your classmates of what you did, how you did it, and what the results were.
• the production of a single word-processed report which includes the final form of your purpose, bibliography, literature survey, experimental procedure, experimental data, graphs, charts, a discussion of results, and a discussion of the theory behind the Special Theory of Relativity and the Standard Model to explain your discovered relationships and conclusions.
  

Some KEYWORDS to use in a literature search:

"Extrasolar Planets"

Physics AND Data AND "Extrasolar Planets"

Education AND "Extrasolar Planets"

"Doppler Shift" AND

Center of Mass

[Internet Resource Launch Page]

IMC RESOURCES (placed on reserve)

General Information

How the World Works - 500 REN

Experimenting with Science - 507.8 GAR

Foundations of Modern Physics - 530 HOL

How Things Work - 530 CRA

Physics Projects for Young . . . - 530 GOO

Adventures in Physics - 530 HIG

A Source Book in Physics - 530 M

The Story of Physics - 530 MOT

The Project Physics Course - 530 RUT

Phenomenal Physics - 530 SWA

The Complete Guide to . . . - 797.1 EVA

Detailed Information about your specific topic:

How Things Work - 530 CRA

A Folder Containing Articles Pertaining to Extrasolar Searches.

Other IMC RESOURCES (not placed on reserve)

Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedias - R503 VAN

Science and Physics Encyclopedias and Reference Materials

CD-ROMs

NOTE:
The folder (mentioned above) will be a very useful resource for technical information. The Internet contains much information about Extrasolar Searches and the physics thereof. The encyclopedias, reference materials, and CD-ROMs are also very useful. The Mechanical Universe Video on Kepler's Laws will also prove useful. Quickly determine what is meant by Center of Mass, the Doppler Shift, Universal Gravitation, Kepler's Third Law, Orbital Velocity and Conservation of Momentum and discover how they apply to the ET Expertise Quiz.

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