1. LA@CERN Missions Development Idea Senario for schools Lynne Long, University of Birmingham, UK

2. Title How much does it cost (in terms of electricty consumption) to run the LHC experiment for a 24 hour period? ?

3. Rationale Used as an exercise in the general teaching of uses of electricity - power consumption of various electrical appliances, relative costs etc Students would research various numerical data about the LHC and apply knowledge gained from more mundane examples to solve the problem As an extension to standard curriculum, the scenario would add interest, giving opportunities to research data, find out about real science and apply basic knowledge and techniques to a new situation.

4. Space of implementation The scenario could take place in the classroom or be set as a homework activity It could be completed as an individual exercise or as a group exercise with various tasks to perform and integrate together Most students would be genuinely interested to know the answer!

5. Involved actors The exercise could be used at various levels - adjusting tasks as necessary for Advanced level GCSE level Lower school

6. Specific goals Reinforce standard curriculum Provide a slightly different example to stimulate more interest – pose a question that students really want to know the answer to Introduce the concept of particle physics experiments etc before specific particle physics topics enter the school curriculum Provide an opportunity for students to find out more about the LHC experiments from their research of relevant data Encourage discussion of ethical issues – uses/purposes of science research

7. Connections with the curriculum Easily identified links with school curriculum at various levels Both in physics curriculum and “how science works” applications (recently introduced section in English curriculum at GCSE)

8. Possible Narrative Students as individuals, or as groups, would be posed the question Possible data needed would be discussed/brain stormed in groups Sources of information would be researched Knowledge of electric circuits/equations/ theory would be collated Calculations would be done – and an estimate of the answer would be reached

9. Relevant resources A simplified version of the what the LHC experiments are, what they are trying to do and how they are trying to do it.  Numbers of components and average power consumptions etc  Relevant equations  Useful unit conversions  Costs per KWHr or equivalent in various regions across Europe  Power station sizes/inputs

10. Possible extensions Ethics of spending so much money on science experiments – is the cost justified? What benefits do we get/ have we got historically? “Importance is attached to the knowledge, skills and understanding of how science works in the world at large, as well as in the laboratory” Students are now required to “apply and question” /develop more communication skills. …