Radioactive Dice Decay

By Maisha Murry •

Grade Level	9th Grade
Subject Area	Algebra I
Duration	Two-Three 70 Minute Classroom Periods
Setting	Classroom
Background Knowledge	Students should some general knowledge of radioactivity. Students should also be able to graph points.
Authors	Maisha Murry, Mathew Bye


Summary
Students will learn that radioactive decay is unpredictable and spontaneous. They will also learn that the decay of one atom to another is irreversible. (This principle can be illustrated using popcorn) Students will learn that exponential decay is when a quantity deceases at a rate proportional to its value. Students will learn how the half-life of a radioactive isotope is subject to exponential decay. Students will learn that the half-life of a radioactive isotope is the time required for a quantity of radioactivity to decay by half. These principles will be illustrated using dice.
Objectives
Students will be able to: •Understand the unpredictability and spontaneity of radioactive decay. •Understand that the decay of one atom to another is irreversible •Understand exponential decay of radioactive isotopes
Materials Required
1. Handout 2. Popcorn Popper 3. Popcorn Kernels 4. Cooking oil 5. 50 dice for each students (A total of 1250 dice are needed for a group of 25 students) 6. 50 Ziploc Bags 7. 25 boxes (The tops of printer paper boxes would work best) 8. Black Marker 9. Graphing Paper 10. Geiger Counter for Alpha 11. Geiger Counter for Beta 12. Mental Lanterns containing thorium (Alpha-a Source) 13. Uranium Glazed Pottery (Alpha-a, Beta-ß, Gamma-? Source) 14. Pencils
Ohio Standards
From the Ohio Mathematics Benchmarks: Patterns, Functions, and Algebra Standards (Pg 170) • Generalize patterns using functions or relationships (linear, quadratic and exponential), and freely translate among tabular, graphical and symbolic representations. • Describe problem situations (linear, quadratic and exponential) by using tabular, graphical and symbolic representations. Physical Science Nature of Matter (Pg 137) • Describe radioactive substances as unstable nuclei that undergo random spontaneous nuclear decay emitting particles and/or high energy wavelike radiation.