Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Earth Science - Geologic Time - Radioactive Decay

Shaping the Earth by DH Patent and William Munoz
Geology by Barbara Murck

Vocabulary Added:
radioactive decay: how chemical elements change the atomic number of their nuclei
half-life: the time it takes for the number of parent atoms to reduce by half

Discussion:
How radioactive isotopes are like clocks

Activity:
Pretend an ice cube is a uranium 238.  Put it on a a plate and let it melt.  Time it till it is half gone.  Now use another ice cube of the same size as a "clock" to time another activity.

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