In this year's PhysicsQuest kit you will explore the wonderful world of Quantum Mechanics and learn more about the incredible life and work of Dr. Deborah Jin, a quantum scientist who used lasers and magnets to cool down atoms and make new states of matter. Through the four activities, students will have the opportunity to learn about creating models, the behavior of light, and how the strange world of atoms can be harnessed to create a new type of computer.
In each activity you will find a teacher’s manual and a student manual with extension activities and resources to further your exploration.
Have you ever wondered how scientists figure out how things work when they do not have a direct way of measuring the phenomena? For example, how do we know that the structure of an atom consists of electrons revolving around a positively charged nucleus, like the planets around the sun? In this activity, we will learn how to build scientific models based on observations, realize that different models can explain the same observations, and refine our models based on new data.
What is light? Have you ever wondered how light travels, whether it moven a straight line or if it spreads in multiple ways? For many years, there were different theories, and physicists designed many experiments to test the different hypotheses. Today, you are going to follow in their footsteps to answer these questions yourself.
Teacher's Guide
Save Schrödinger's Cat Activity Video
Schrödinger’s Cat Game Cards
Schrödinger’s Cat Game Instructions
Computers are all built to use logic circuits that provide instructions for achieving tasks. The building blocks of these circuits are the logic gates. A programmer's job is to build circuits that expand the capabilities of computers. In the board game "Save Schrodinger's Cat," you play the role of the programmer building logic circuits to keep our cat awake. But there is a catch! You will need to learn the rules of quantum logic to go beyond what classical computers can do today to keep the cat awake.
Teacher's Guide
Quantum Circuits Activity Video
Quantum Circuits Game Cards
Thousands of scientists around the world are working hard to develop quantum computers—machines that can solve certain problems that are far beyond the reach of the world’s best supercomputers. Famous examples include code breaking and simulating complex molecules. This document contains a detailed explanation of pictorial rules that can be used to design and analyze quantum logic circuits, along with a few practice problems to help students become familiar with the basic rules of quantum logic.