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S.K. Dunn (Tewksbury High School/ MIT Haystack Observatory), J. Brown (Tyngsboro High School/ MIT Haystack Observatory)
Radio Frequency Interference: Projects and Activities Developed for the High School Earth Science, Astronomy, and Physics Classroom Susan Dunn Tewksbury Memorial High School Jason Brown Tyngsboro High School Preethi Pratap MIT Haystack Observatory
The Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program, funded by the NSF, brings teachers into research environments to interact with scientists and translate the experience into the classroom. We will describe a RET experience at the MIT Haystack Observatory which involved using an AR3000A communications receiver and a discone antenna as the basis for an Earth Science, Astronomy, and Physics classroom unit. The projects and activities in this unit were developed to help foster student learning and understanding of radio astronomy, the electromagnetic spectrum, wave dynamics, signal propagation, meteor detection, and radio frequency interference. Additionally, this RET project utilizes the SEARFE (Students Examining Australia???s Radio Frequency Environment) software developed for use with the AR3000A communications receiver to scan and monitor frequencies across the radio bandwidth to determine areas of low and high usage in the radio spectrum. Classroom activities include Scanning Protected Radio Astronomy Bandwidths, Investigating the Radio Environment, Time Variation of Signal Strength, Signal Strength vs. Location Studies, Detecting Meteors using the AR300A Receiver, Mapping the RFI Environment of Your School, AM Radio Interference, and Signal Propagation Effects. The primary focus of the unit???s activities is to address the Massachusetts State Science Frameworks for electromagnetic radiation, waves, cosmology, and matter and energy in the Earth system and foster an understanding of how everyday communications devices may cause radio frequency interference with sensitive radio astronomy equipment. The projects and activities in the unit will be used in the classroom, amended, and the results of the classroom experience will be discussed.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.