Alien Bandstand

• http://mystery.sonoma.edu

• Lynn Cominsky
• Sonoma State University

Alien Bandstand

• A recording executive looking for his next big hit has turned to the heavens. He has found a peculiar signal in some radio telescope data and he is convinced that it is music from an alien civilization. He is offering it for sale.
• Your mission: Determine if this signal really is an alien tune!

Waves

• Wavelength – distance between two crests or troughs in a wave in space
• Period – time it takes for 1 wave to pass by
• Period is also the

• distance between two crests or troughs in time

NSE Standards

• Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understanding about scientific inquiry
• Content Standard B: Physical Science
• Interactions of Energy and Matter
• Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science
• Origin and Evolution of the Universe

NSE Standards

• Content Standard E: Science and Technology
• Understandings about science and technology
• Content Standard G: History and Nature of Science
• Science as a human endeavor

Let’s play the game!

• You will meet some interesting characters
• You will meet some real scientists
• You will have three tools to use to take the data needed to solve the mystery
• There will be a notebook to write down your findings so you can remember things
• There will be a quiz at the end

• Start here

Live! From 2-Alpha

• A space-faring reporter is stranded on the planet 2-Alpha. He starts noticing strange events in the sky and on the planet.
• Your mission: Determine what is happening and what course of action he must take to survive.

Newton’s Laws

• F = G m1 m2
• Escape velocity

• r2

• Force due to gravity

• v = 2 G m

• r

NSE Standards

• Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry
• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understandings about scientific inquiry
• Content Standard B: Physical Science
• Interactions of Energy and Matter
• Motion and Forces
• Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science
• Origin and Evolution of the Universe

NSE Standards

• Content Standard E: Science and Technology
• Understandings about science and technology
• Content Standard G: History and Nature of Science
• Science as a human endeavor

Let’s play the game!

• You will see many strange things happen to Parnell
• You will have three tools to use to take the data needed to solve the mystery
• There will be a notebook to write down your findings so you can remember things
• There will be five challenges that you must pass to advance through the mystery

• Start here

Star Market Scandal

• Release expected: Summer 2002
• People are buying large numbers of stars in the International Star Market
• Your mission: Uncover the reasons behind these unusual activities

A few caveats

• Web based version saves all the answers (correct and incorrect) as well as the complete notebook
• CD version only saves correct answers and limits size of text box responses and notebook
• Both versions do not check the answers in the text boxes – this is up to the instructor.
• We have tested both versions on many different PCs and Macs. If you have technical problems, please let us know.

We’d love to hear from you!

• Suggestions you or your students have that will help us to improve the mysteries
• Ideas you have for new mysteries. We will be developing three more during 2003-2005
• Payments are available for testers and/or co-developers!
• http://mystery.sonoma.edu