Exploratorium
Radioactive Decay Model
Toss 100 pennies (or poker chips or any other two-different-sided objects) and remove all of those displaying tails. Line them up and repeat. The lines of pennies collected get smaller each time, successfully representing half-life.
Virginia Department of Education
Radioactive Decay and Half-Life
Explain the importance of radioactive half-life as your high school biologists demonstrate the concept by performing a series of steps designed to simulate radioactive decay. Pupils use pennies to perform an experiment and gather data....
Curated OER
Radioactive Decay and Half-Life
Young scholars describe how the mass of a radioactive isotope changes with time and the factors that affect the rate of radioactive decay. They write nuclear decay equations to represent natural transmutation. This activity is...
Curated OER
Radioactive Decay: A Sweet Simulation of a Half-life
High schoolers demonstrate rates of decay of unstable nuclei can be measured. They understand ratios and multiplication of fractions. They simulate radioactive decay. They read about the accomplishments of scientists.
Virginia Department of Education
Determining Absolute Age
How can radioactive decay help date old objects? Learners explore half-life and radioactive decay by conducting an experiment using pennies to represent atoms. Young scientists graph data from the experiment to identify radioactive decay...
Curated OER
Radioactive Decay
Students explore radioactive decay. Through various activities, students examine methods for permanent disposal of radioactive waste. After performing a random process experiment, students compare the results to radioactive decay. ...
Curated OER
Using Radioactive Decay To Determine Age
Learners explore the process of carbon dating fossils to determine their age. They simulate radioactive decay using pennies in a shoe box. Heads represents a decayed atom each time they shake the box. They use the data to calculate the...
Curated OER
Demonstrating the Half-Life of a Radioactive Isotope
In this half-life activity, students use 100 pennies to simulate radioactive isotopes and half-life. They place the pennies in a box and shake the box. All pennies that turn up tails are removed from the box. They represent the isotopes...
Curated OER
Determining the Age of Fossils
Students examine the concept of radioactive dating. In this radioactive dating lesson, students investigate how to determine the ages of fossils and rocks as they learn about half-life radioactive decay.
Curated OER
Half Life Lab
Seventh graders model radioactive decay using pennies, collect data from their model, apply scientific visualization techniques to their data and create animated models explaining the concept of radioactive half-life.
Curated OER
Earth's Age: The Dating Game
Students conduct a simulation to determine radioactive decay and half-life. Using pennies, dice or sugar cubes as isotopes placed in shoe boxes simulating rocks, they hold five trials representing 1000 years each to find the theoretical...
Curated OER
I'm Late, I'm Late, for a Radioactive Date!
Through the use of an interactive Web site, learners explore C-14 and C-14 dating. Then students analyze an article written about the C-14 dating of the Shroud of Turin and draw conclusions.
Curated OER
Isotopes of Pennies
Students demonstrate that isotopes of an element have different masses. They illustrate atomic mass and neutrons. The periodic table is examined in length. Display of a collection of atoms is surveyed.
Curated OER
Properties of Matter
Ninth graders explore the molecular structure of matter and how it can affect the physical characteristics of a specific material. They demonstrate that isotopes of an element have different masses. Students demonstrate that the rates of...
Curated OER
Frosty the Snowman Meets His Demise: An Analogy to Carbon Dating
Students read and discuss an article about carbon dating, then participate in a hands-on lab to discover how carbon dating works. Students also write a letter to a friend explaining the process, and how archeologists use the process to...
Curated OER
Development of the Atomic Theory
In this atomic theory learning exercise, students complete a paragraph describing the development of the atomic theory by filling in the blank with 21 terms.