Half-life Gizmo KEY

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Half-life Answer Key Vocabulary: daughter atom, decay, Geiger counter, half-life, isotope, neutron, radiation, radioactive, radiometric dating Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the G... izmo.) [Note: The purpose of these questions is to activate prior knowledge and get students thinking. Students are not expected to know the answers to the Prior Knowledge Questions.] 1. Have you ever made microwave popcorn? If so, what do you hear while the popcorn is in the microwave? Sample answer: You hear a popping sound as the kernels become popcorn. At first there are only a few pops, then a lot of pops for a while, and then only a few scattered pops. 2. If you turn the microwave on for two minutes, is the rate of popping always the same, or does it change? Explain. Sample answer: The rate of popping is slow at first, then very fast, and then very slow again. Gizmo Warm-up Like an unpopped kernel in the microwave, a radioactive atom can change at any time. Radioactive atoms change by emitting radiation in the form of tiny particles and/or energy. This process, called decay, causes the radioactive atom to change into a stable daughter atom. The Half-life Gizmo allows you to observe and measure the decay of a radioactive substance. Be sure the sound is turned on and click Play ( ). 1. What do you see and hear? You see the red radioactive atoms change to gray daughter atoms. Each time an atom is transformed there is a bolt of energy and a clicking sound. Note: The clicking sound you hear comes from a Geiger counter, an instrument that detects the particles and energy emitted by decaying radioactive atoms. 2. What remains at the end of the decay process? Daughter atoms remain. 3. Is the rate of decay fastest at the beginning, middle, or end of the process? Beginning [Show More]

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