CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physical Science: Half Life and Radioactive Dating
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Explains radioactive dating, how it works, and how carbon-14 is used to date the remains of living things.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Radioactive Dating Game
Learn about different types of radiometric dating, such as carbon dating. Understand how decay and half-life work to enable radiometric dating. Play a game that tests your ability to match the percentage of the dating element that...
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Radioactive Dating Game
Learn about different types of radiometric dating, such as carbon dating. Understand how decay and half life work to enable radiometric dating. Play a game that tests your ability to match the percentage of the dating element that...
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Radioactive Dating Game
Explore various types of radiometric dating.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Radioactive Dating: Looking at Half Lives Using M&ms
In this activity, students gain a better understanding of radioactive dating and half-lives by using M&Ms to demonstrate the idea of radioactive decay. They will be able to see how scientists can determine the age of rocks by looking...
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley Lab: Radioactive Dating
This site provides an overview of radioactive dating, a process used to determine the age of rocks and other materials.
Australian Museum
Australian Museum: Dating the Earth
How do scientists know how old the Earth is? What is radioactive dating? Are there other dating methods? Get the answers to these questions and others at this site presented by the Australian Museum Online.
California State University
California State University Virtual Courseware Project: Radiocarbon Dating
Use interactive graphs and other diagrams to answer questions about carbon dating.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Radioactive Half Life
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Explains radioactive half-life and radioactive dating, and demonstrates how to solve problems with each.
National Health Museum
Access Excellence: The Discovery of Radioactivity: Dawn of the Nuclear Age
This article discusses the historical discoveries of the atom and radioactivity. Includes links to biographies of famous people.
Other
University of Waikato: Science Learning Hub: Absolute Dating
Explains what absolute dating is as compared to relative dating and how they can work together. The characteristics of several different radiometric methods are compared. Includes three short videos and an interactive where students...
American Geosciences Institute
American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Dating Popcorn
In this activity, students use popcorn to simulate the process scientists use to date layers in an ice core.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physics Simulation: Radiocarbon Dating
[Free Registration/Login Required] Learn about how radiocarbon dating works and how anthropologists can use this method to figure out who long ago people lived. A PDF worksheet and a video tutorial are also available. [5:41]
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: Paleobiology: Absolute Dating
An explanation of radiometric or absolute dating of geological formations based on using the half-life of radioactive elements to figure out how old given rock layers are. A link on the left provides information about relative dating as...
PBS
The Dating Game: Radiocarbon Dating
Part of PBS-NOVA Online. An excellent explanation of how radiocarbon dating is done and why it works. Great material for earth science, history or biology classes.
Illustrative Mathematics
Illustrative Mathematics: N q.a.3 and F le.a.4: Accuracy of Carbon 14 Dating Ii
This task is a refinement of "Carbon 14 dating" which focuses on accuracy. Aligns with N-Q.A.3 and F-LE.A.4.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: The Dating Game: Radioactive Carbon
In this media-rich essay from the NOVA: "Mystery of the First Americans" Web site, learn about the atomic structure of radioactive carbon and how it can be used to determine the age of organic remains, such as bones and teeth.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Radiometric Dating
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Elaborates on radioactive decay as a tool for determining the age of certain minerals and other materials, including the limits of the technique.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Earth Science: Radiometric Dating
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How scientists can use radioactive decay to find the age of certain materials.
Other
Milton J. Rubenstein Museum: Determining the Age of Rocks and Fossils [Pdf]
This set of activities from the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology has students investigating how relative dating and absolute dating methods are used to determine the age of rocks and fossils.
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments: Numb3 Rs How to Get a Date for Episode
Students will learn how to estimate time of death by using a lab that models carbon dating and radioactive decay. Activity pages complete with calculator keystroke instructions and screenprints are included in this lesson plan based on...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Willard Libby Carbon Dating
Use this site to learn about radiocarbon dating and the scientist who discovered it, Willard Libby (1908-1980 CE).
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Radioactive Decay Calculator
Students will use this online Radioactive Decay Calculator to compute radioactive decay, timed decay, and timed solid disposal for a databank containing 116 isotopes. This calculator also features University of British Columbia disposal...
Other
Nrc: Unit 2 the Uses of Radiation
A lesson plan on the uses of radiation in science, industry, and medicine. Gives many household examples of how radiation is used. Learners will also learn about the NRC's role in regulating radioactive materials.