Half Life Lab
Problem:
How can half life be simulated using a piece of paper?
Procedure:
1. Tear a piece of paper in half.
2. Label one half radio active carbon 14.
3. Label the other half stable Nitrogen.
4. Repeat steps 1, 2, and 3 using paper with radioactive Carbon 14.
5. Continue until there is no radioactive Crabon 14 left.
Information:
Carbon 14 is an unstable substance. The atoms of Carbon 14 change to another element, Nitrogen. It takes about 5700 years for half of the atoms in a sample of Carbon 14 to change to stable Nitrogen. This is it's half life. All living things contain Carbon 14. When a plant or an animal dies, its Carbon 14 begins to decay. By measuring how much is left in a dead plant or animal, will indicate the age of the dead plant or animal.
Conclusion:
1. How old was your sample of paper?
2. Could Carbon 14 be used to date dinosaurs? Why or why not?
Beta Simulation Lab
Problem:
How can you make a mode of beta decay?
Procedure:
1. Place 100 pennies carefully in a 250 mL beaker.
2. The pennies represent Carbon 14 nuclei.
3. Carefully pour your pennies out on your lab table.
4. Heads up pennies represent Carbon 14 nuclei.
5. Tails up pennies represent Nitrogen nuclei.
6. Return the Carbon 14 pennies into the beaker.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 over until there are no Carbon 14 atoms left.
Data Table:
Half life (toss #) Remaining Carbon 14 nuclei
1
2
3
4
5
Conclusion:
1. Does your graph resemble a half life graph?
2. Th table below shows the half-lives and radiation of some naturally occurring radioisotopes. Which isotope has the longest half life? the shortest half life?
3. Write out the nuclear reactions for carbon-14, radon-222 and uranium-238.
Carbon-14 5.73 x 10^3 years Beta
Potassium-40 1.25 x 10^3 years Beta and Gamma
Radon-222 3.8 days Alpha
Radium-226 1.6 x 10^3 years Alpha and Gamma
Thorium-230 7.54 x 10^4 years Alpha and Gamma
Thorium-234 24.1 days Beta and Gamma
Uranium-235 7.0 x 10^8 years Alpha and Gamma
Uranium-238 4.46 x 10^9 years Alpha